# Is "The Hoosier School-Master" by Edward Eggleston a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Hoosier School-Master by Edward Eggleston (Orange Judd and Company, 1871) is identified by: First edition, first printing (BAL 5096), bound in brick/terra-cotta cloth, gilt lettered, decorated in gilt and blind, with brown coated endpapers; 226 pages including twelve inserted illustrated plates by Frank Beard. The true first edition is the 1871 Orange Judd and Company (New York) printing.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing (BAL 5096), bound in brick/terra-cotta cloth, gilt lettered, decorated in gilt and blind, with brown coated endpapers
- 226 pages including twelve inserted illustrated plates by Frank Beard
- The first-state textual point is 'was out' at page 71, line 3, distinguishing it from later corrected printings
- Based partly on the experiences of Eggleston's brother George Cary Eggleston, it was Eggleston's first novel and a landmark of the regionalist 'Hoosier' school
- Publisher imprint reads Orange Judd and Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Edward Eggleston |
| Publisher | Orange Judd and Company |
| Year | 1871 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing (BAL 5096), bound in brick/terra-cotta cloth, gilt lettered, decorated in gilt and blind, with brown coated… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing (BAL 5096), bound in brick/terra-cotta cloth, gilt lettered, decorated in gilt and blind, with brown coated endpapers; 226 pages including twelve inserted illustrated plates by Frank Beard. The first-state textual point is 'was out' at page 71, line 3, distinguishing it from later corrected printings. Based partly on the experiences of Eggleston's brother George Cary Eggleston, it was Eggleston's first novel and a landmark of the regionalist 'Hoosier' school.

## Is this the true first?
The true first edition is the 1871 Orange Judd and Company (New York) printing. George Routledge & Sons (London) issued an unauthorized first English edition in 1872, in the era before international copyright, with a special preface added for English readers; it followed, and should not be confused with, the American first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Hoosier School-Master* by Edward Eggleston a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-hoosier-school-master
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.