# Is "The Mayor of Casterbridge" by Thomas Hardy a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy (Smith, Elder & Co., 1886) is identified by: Two volumes, Smith, Elder & Co., London, dated 1886 (first edition in book form, published May 1886, in a small printing). The UK Smith, Elder 1886 two-volume edition is the true first book edition; the US Henry Holt 1886 edition is secondary.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Two volumes, Smith, Elder & Co., London, dated 1886 (first edition in book form, published May 1886, in a small printing)
- Issued in publisher's dark blue cloth blocked in black with gilt spine lettering
- Half-title in Volume I; publisher's advertisement leaves at the ends of the volumes, though copies are recorded both with and without ads, so their presence is not a reliable single point
- Publisher imprint reads Smith, Elder & Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Thomas Hardy |
| Publisher | Smith, Elder & Co. |
| Year | 1886 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Two volumes, Smith, Elder & Co., London, dated 1886 (first edition in book form, published May 1886, in a small printing) |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Two volumes, Smith, Elder & Co., London, dated 1886 (first edition in book form, published May 1886, in a small printing). Issued in publisher's dark blue cloth blocked in black with gilt spine lettering. Half-title in Volume I; publisher's advertisement leaves at the ends of the volumes, though copies are recorded both with and without ads, so their presence is not a reliable single point.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Smith, Elder 1886 two-volume edition is the true first book edition; the US Henry Holt 1886 edition is secondary.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
One-volume reprints and the later Wessex collected edition are not the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Mayor of Casterbridge* by Thomas Hardy a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-mayor-of-casterbridge
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.