# Is "The History of Pendennis" by William Makepeace Thackeray a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The History of Pendennis by William Makepeace Thackeray (Bradbury and Evans, 1849) is identified by: First edition, issued in 23 monthly parts (numbers 23 and 24 combined as a double part) from November 1848 to December 1850 -- publication was interrupted for roughly three months in late 1849 by Thackeray's near-fatal illness, a gap that is itself a bibliographic marker of the parts issue.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, issued in 23 monthly parts (numbers 23 and 24 combined as a double part) from November 1848 to December 1850 -- publication was interrupted for roughly three months in late 1849 by Thackeray's near-fatal illness, a gap that is itself a bibliographic marker of the parts issue
- First book-form edition in two volumes: volume I dated 1849 (viii,384pp.) and volume II dated 1850 (xii,372pp.), with an engraved vignette title to both volumes and a total of 46 plates plus numerous text illustrations
- Cited as Wolff 6693
- Publisher imprint reads Bradbury and Evans
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | William Makepeace Thackeray |
| Publisher | Bradbury and Evans |
| Year | 1849 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, issued in 23 monthly parts (numbers 23 and 24 combined as a double part) from November 1848 to December 1850 -- publication… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, issued in 23 monthly parts (numbers 23 and 24 combined as a double part) from November 1848 to December 1850 -- publication was interrupted for roughly three months in late 1849 by Thackeray's near-fatal illness, a gap that is itself a bibliographic marker of the parts issue. First book-form edition in two volumes: volume I dated 1849 (viii,384pp.) and volume II dated 1850 (xii,372pp.), with an engraved vignette title to both volumes and a total of 46 plates plus numerous text illustrations. Cited as Wolff 6693.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The History of Pendennis* by William Makepeace Thackeray a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-history-of-pendennis
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.