# Is "The Lady, or the Tiger? and Other Stories" by Frank R. Stockton a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Lady, or the Tiger? and Other Stories by Frank R. Stockton (Charles Scribner's Sons, 1884) is identified by: First edition (BAL 18880; Wright III 5242), an edition of 1,500 copies, collecting twelve stories including the title story that had first appeared in The Century in November 1882 and became one of the most widely discussed short stories of its era for its ambiguous, reader-completed ending.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition (BAL 18880
- Wright III 5242), an edition of 1,500 copies, collecting twelve stories including the title story that had first appeared in The Century in November 1882 and became one of the most widely discussed short stories of its era for its ambiguous, reader-completed ending
- Bound in original two-part pictorial cloth in gray and brown, the front and spine panels stamped in black and gold and the rear panel stamped in black, over olive-green floral-patterned endpapers
- The octavo text runs to page 201 followed by publisher's advertisements, matching the collation recorded by specialist dealers for genuine first-printing copies
- Publisher imprint reads Charles Scribner's Sons
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Frank R. Stockton |
| Publisher | Charles Scribner's Sons |
| Year | 1884 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition (BAL 18880 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition (BAL 18880; Wright III 5242), an edition of 1,500 copies, collecting twelve stories including the title story that had first appeared in The Century in November 1882 and became one of the most widely discussed short stories of its era for its ambiguous, reader-completed ending. Bound in original two-part pictorial cloth in gray and brown, the front and spine panels stamped in black and gold and the rear panel stamped in black, over olive-green floral-patterned endpapers. The octavo text runs to page 201 followed by publisher's advertisements, matching the collation recorded by specialist dealers for genuine first-printing copies.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Lady, or the Tiger? and Other Stories* by Frank R. Stockton a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-lady-or-the-tiger-and-other-stories
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.