# Is "The Marble Faun; or, The Romance of Monte Beni" by Nathaniel Hawthorne a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Marble Faun; or, The Romance of Monte Beni by Nathaniel Hawthorne (Ticknor & Fields, 1860) is identified by: First American edition in two volumes, publisher's cloth, 1860. Precedence by date belongs to the London Smith, Elder three-volume edition titled 'Transformation; or, The Romance of Monte Beni' (early 1860), which preceded the Boston Ticknor & Fields 'The Marble Faun' (two volumes, 1860).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First American edition in two volumes, publisher's cloth, 1860
- The true first American is issued WITHOUT the appended explanatory Conclusion (called the Postscript in the English line), which Hawthorne added shortly afterward to answer readers' questions; in the first printing Volume II ends without that Conclusion
- Presence or absence of the appended Conclusion and the rear ad catalogue help fix the printing
- Publisher imprint reads Ticknor & Fields
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Nathaniel Hawthorne |
| Publisher | Ticknor & Fields |
| Year | 1860 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First American edition in two volumes, publisher's cloth, 1860 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First American edition in two volumes, publisher's cloth, 1860. The true first American is issued WITHOUT the appended explanatory Conclusion (called the Postscript in the English line), which Hawthorne added shortly afterward to answer readers' questions; in the first printing Volume II ends without that Conclusion. Presence or absence of the appended Conclusion and the rear ad catalogue help fix the printing.

## Is this the true first?
Precedence by date belongs to the London Smith, Elder three-volume edition titled 'Transformation; or, The Romance of Monte Beni' (early 1860), which preceded the Boston Ticknor & Fields 'The Marble Faun' (two volumes, 1860). The American first lacks the added Conclusion, which appears in later printings of both lines.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Single-volume and later printings postdate the two-volume first; the English title 'Transformation' identifies the UK line.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Marble Faun; or, The Romance of Monte Beni* by Nathaniel Hawthorne a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-marble-faun-or-the-romance-of-monte-beni
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.