Is My The Hound of the Baskervilles a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first is the George Newnes edition, London, 1902 (Green & Gibson A26), following serialization in The Strand Magazine (1901–02)
• Because the single textual point is easy to fake or misquote, corroborate several together:
• the first-issue textual point 'you' for 'your' at page 13, line 3
• the first-issue binding — red cloth, elaborately blocked in gilt, with the black silhouette of the hound to the upper cover (design by Alfred Garth Jones); and
• the 16 full-page plates by Sidney Paget, which are frequently loose or lacking, so confirm all are present
• The publisher's advertisements/catalogue bound at the rear can help date an early issue

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
3. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
5. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

The UK Newnes edition (published 25 March 1902) precedes the first American edition — McClure, Phillips & Co. (published 15 April 1902) — by about three weeks; UK before US. Both are collected: the UK Newnes is the true first, the US McClure, Phillips is a separate American first. The Strand Magazine serial (Aug 1901–Apr 1902) predates book form but is a periodical, not a book edition.P-036449

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later Newnes impressions, cheap reissues, and modern facsimiles carry different bindings and advertisement states and may or may not preserve the page-13 reading — so never rely on the 'you/your' misprint alone. Verify the first-issue red-cloth binding, the presence of all 16 Paget plates, and the rear advertisements together with the textual point.P-036450

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Hound of the Baskervilles a first edition?

A first edition of The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (George Newnes) is identified by: True first is the George Newnes edition, London, 1902 (Green & Gibson A26), following serialization in The Strand Magazine (1901–02).

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. The UK Newnes edition (published 25 March 1902) precedes the first American edition — McClure, Phillips & Co.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

Later Newnes impressions, cheap reissues, and modern facsimiles carry different bindings and advertisement states and may or may not preserve the page-13 reading — so never rely on the 'you/your' misprint alone. Verify the first-issue red-cloth binding, the presence of all 16 Paget plates, and the rear advertisements together with the textual point.

I have a first edition of The Hound of the Baskervilles — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.