# Is "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (Leonard Smithers and Co., 1899) is identified by: Published February 1899 by Leonard Smithers in three issues, from sheets printed by the Chiswick Press in January 1899: 1,000 ordinary copies, 100 large-paper copies on handmade paper (numbered and signed by Wilde), and 12 copies on Japanese vellum. The Smithers (London) 1899 edition is the true first — the play was staged in 1895 but not published until 1899.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Published February 1899 by Leonard Smithers in three issues, from sheets printed by the Chiswick Press in January 1899: 1,000 ordinary copies, 100 large-paper copies on handmade paper (numbered and signed by Wilde), and 12 copies on Japanese vellum
- The title page carries no author name; at Wilde's own instruction (his letter of 1 December 1898, 'You must add by the author of Lady Windermere's Fan') it reads 'A Trivial Comedy for Serious People, by the Author of "Lady Windermere's Fan"' — his name suppressed after his imprisonment
- Bound in dark mauve cloth with a spare botanical/gilt design by Charles Hazelwood Shannon, who had designed the covers for Lady Windermere's Fan and A Woman of No Importance
- Smithers imprint
- Publisher imprint reads Leonard Smithers and Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Oscar Wilde |
| Publisher | Leonard Smithers and Co. |
| Year | 1899 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Published February 1899 by Leonard Smithers in three issues, from sheets printed by the Chiswick Press in January 1899: 1,000 ordinary… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Published February 1899 by Leonard Smithers in three issues, from sheets printed by the Chiswick Press in January 1899: 1,000 ordinary copies, 100 large-paper copies on handmade paper (numbered and signed by Wilde), and 12 copies on Japanese vellum. The title page carries no author name; at Wilde's own instruction (his letter of 1 December 1898, 'You must add by the author of Lady Windermere's Fan') it reads 'A Trivial Comedy for Serious People, by the Author of "Lady Windermere's Fan"' — his name suppressed after his imprisonment. Bound in dark mauve cloth with a spare botanical/gilt design by Charles Hazelwood Shannon, who had designed the covers for Lady Windermere's Fan and A Woman of No Importance. Smithers imprint.

## Is this the true first?
The Smithers (London) 1899 edition is the true first — the play was staged in 1895 but not published until 1899. The 12 Japanese-vellum and the 100 large-paper copies are the premier states above the ordinary issue of 1,000; the large-paper (and vellum) copies bear Wilde's signature, notable given his post-prison disgrace. Wilde is unnamed on the title page of every issue.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No period book-club edition. Any copy naming Oscar Wilde on the title page is a later edition (for example the Methuen collected-works printings from about 1908 onward), not the 1899 Smithers first, whose title page substitutes 'by the Author of "Lady Windermere's Fan".'

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Importance of Being Earnest* by Oscar Wilde a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-importance-of-being-earnest
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.