Is My The King in Yellow a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Published by F. Tennyson Neely as part of "Neely's Prismatic Library" in 1895, bound in original pictorial green cloth, the front and spine panels stamped in brown, top edge gilt, other edges untrimmed, with a lizard emblem stamped on the front board
• Of three printings all dated 1895 on the title page, the true first is identified by the absence of an inserted frontispiece, a blank leaf at page [318], and sheets bulking to about 1.5 centimeters; later printings insert a frontispiece portrait of the author that the first printing lacks
• Collates small octavo, [1-2] [1-9] 10-316 [317: ad] [318: blank]

How F. Tennyson Neely marked a first edition

• 1888–c.1903: cheap-library and mail-order publisher; issues carry the 'F. Tennyson Neely' imprint (Chicago and New York, with London added in 1897) — no first-edition statement, so identify by imprint form, dated title p…
• Series titles (Neely's Library/Booklet Library): the series number and the bound-in ad list date the issue; reused plates make catalog/ad state the practical first-issue tell.

Full F. Tennyson Neely first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. 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.
4. Verify this is the British true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. 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.
6. 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?

A separate British edition from Chatto & Windus, Piccadilly, also dated 1895, is a distinct setting of type from a different publisher; the F. Tennyson Neely printing described here is the original American first edition.P-036123

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The great majority of surviving copies are later 1895-dated printings with an inserted frontispiece; only the thinner, frontispiece-less printing with the blank leaf at page 318 is the true first issue.P-036124

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The King in Yellow a first edition?

A first edition of The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers (F. Tennyson Neely) is identified by: Tennyson Neely as part of "Neely's Prismatic Library" in 1895, bound in original pictorial green cloth, the front and spine panels stamped in brown, top edge gilt, other edges untrimmed, with a lizard emblem stamped on the front board.

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. A separate British edition from Chatto & Windus, Piccadilly, also dated 1895, is a distinct setting of type from a different publisher; the F.

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

The great majority of surviving copies are later 1895-dated printings with an inserted frontispiece; only the thinner, frontispiece-less printing with the blank leaf at page 318 is the true first issue.

I have a first edition of The King in Yellow — 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.