# Is "The Island of Doctor Moreau" by H. G. Wells a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells (William Heinemann, 1896) is identified by: First published by William Heinemann, London, on 1 January 1896, collating 219 pages, octavo, with a tissue-guarded frontispiece, an integral leaf advertising The Time Machine, and a 32-page publisher's catalogue at the rear opening with The Manxman and closing with Out of Due Season. The Heinemann first edition, published in London on 1 January 1896, precedes the first American edition issued by Stone & Kimball, New York, later the same year under the variant title The Island of Dr.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First published by William Heinemann, London, on 1 January 1896, collating 219 pages, octavo, with a tissue-guarded frontispiece, an integral leaf advertising The Time Machine, and a 32-page publisher's catalogue at the rear opening with The Manxman and closing with Out of Due Season
- The true first-issue binding is tan pictorial cloth, the front cover illustrated in red and black with the island scene, the spine lettered in black, and the publisher's monogram blocked in blind on the rear cover
- A second recorded first-edition state substitutes a 33-page advertisement catalogue and omits the rear-cover monogram, with no priority established between the two states
- Publisher imprint reads William Heinemann
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | H. G. Wells |
| Publisher | William Heinemann |
| Year | 1896 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First published by William Heinemann, London, on 1 January 1896, collating 219 pages, octavo, with a tissue-guarded frontispiece, an… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First published by William Heinemann, London, on 1 January 1896, collating 219 pages, octavo, with a tissue-guarded frontispiece, an integral leaf advertising The Time Machine, and a 32-page publisher's catalogue at the rear opening with The Manxman and closing with Out of Due Season. The true first-issue binding is tan pictorial cloth, the front cover illustrated in red and black with the island scene, the spine lettered in black, and the publisher's monogram blocked in blind on the rear cover. A second recorded first-edition state substitutes a 33-page advertisement catalogue and omits the rear-cover monogram, with no priority established between the two states.

## Is this the true first?
The Heinemann first edition, published in London on 1 January 1896, precedes the first American edition issued by Stone & Kimball, New York, later the same year under the variant title The Island of Dr. Moreau: A Possibility; the British Heinemann sheets are the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The Stone & Kimball American edition is bound in black cloth with gilt lettering and ruling, quite unlike the tan pictorial Heinemann cloth, and is not the true first. Heinemann's own later impressions, including a documented 1905 printing, appear in green cloth ruled on the covers with gilt spine lettering rather than the tan pictorial first-issue cloth.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Island of Doctor Moreau* by H. G. Wells a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-island-of-doctor-moreau
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.