Is My The Life of Charlotte Brontë a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first: London, Smith, Elder & Co., 1857, in TWO volumes, octavo, bound in the publisher's brown/chocolate cloth with covers decorated in blind and spine lettered in gilt; each volume has an engraved, tissue-guarded frontispiece and a facsimile-manuscript plate, pagination viii, 352 (vol
• I) and viii, 327 plus terminal ads (vol
• First-issue tells: the title pages carry NO edition statement (later printings are lettered 'Second Edition' / 'Third Edition'), and copies carry a 16-page publisher's catalogue dated March 1857 bound in at the end of vol
• II. The unrevised first is the setting that still contains the Cowan Bridge / Rev
• Carus Wilson material and the account of Mrs (Lydia) Robinson and Branwell Brontë that provoked the libel threats
• Binding and format corroborated by two independent dealer catalogues (Jonkers Rare Books and a second antiquarian description) plus the documented publishing history

How Smith, Elder & Co. marked a first edition

• Original publisher's cloth binding (blind- and gilt-stamped), correct half-titles present, and an uncut or unopened text block support a first-issue state.

Full Smith, Elder & Co. first-edition guide →

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 American 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 London Smith, Elder two-volume edition (1857) is the true first. A first American edition appeared the same year from D. Appleton & Co., New York (1857); it follows the London printing and is collected only as the first American, not the true first. Both the first and the second editions were recalled in May 1857 under threat of libel, after which the text was substantially revised for the third edition (the so-called 'mutilated edition'), so the earlier unrevised London setting is the one collectors seek.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No genuine book-club issue for the 1857 first. Beware later Smith, Elder printings that state 'Second Edition' / 'Third Edition' on the title page, the revised (cleansed) third edition, and the many later one-volume revised reprints — all 'first thus,' not the first.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Life of Charlotte Brontë a first edition?

A first edition of The Life of Charlotte Brontë by Elizabeth Gaskell (Smith, Elder & Co.) is identified by: True first: London, Smith, Elder & Co., 1857, in TWO volumes, octavo, bound in the publisher's brown/chocolate cloth with covers decorated in blind and spine lettered in gilt; each volume has an engraved, tissue-guarded frontispiece and a facsimile-manuscript plate, pagination viii, 352 (vol.

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 London Smith, Elder two-volume edition (1857) is the true first.

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

No genuine book-club issue for the 1857 first. Beware later Smith, Elder printings that state 'Second Edition' / 'Third Edition' on the title page, the revised (cleansed) third edition, and the many later one-volume revised reprints — all 'first thus,' not the first.

I have a first edition of The Life of Charlotte Brontë — 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.