# Is "The Miser's Daughter: A Tale" by William Harrison Ainsworth a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Miser's Daughter: A Tale by William Harrison Ainsworth (Cunningham and Mortimer, 1842) is identified by: First edition in book form, three volumes ('three-decker'), published by Cunningham and Mortimer for the Christmas 1842 market, uniformly bound in original brown publisher's cloth blocked in blind with gilt-lettered spines, and illustrated with 20 engraved plates by George Cruikshank. The Ainsworth's Magazine serialization (January-October 1842, in ten monthly parts) preceded the three-volume book edition, published by Cunningham and Mortimer for the Christmas 1842 market as the serialization concluded.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition in book form, three volumes ('three-decker'), published by Cunningham and Mortimer for the Christmas 1842 market, uniformly bound in original brown publisher's cloth blocked in blind with gilt-lettered spines, and illustrated with 20 engraved plates by George Cruikshank
- This followed prior serialization in Ainsworth's Magazine from January to October 1842, issued in ten monthly parts with two steel-engraved plates per part
- Referenced in the standard bibliographies as Cohn 17 and Wolff 61, the latter noting the title as 'very rare.'
- Publisher imprint reads Cunningham and Mortimer
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | William Harrison Ainsworth |
| Publisher | Cunningham and Mortimer |
| Year | 1842 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition in book form, three volumes ('three-decker'), published by Cunningham and Mortimer for the Christmas 1842 market, uniformly… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition in book form, three volumes ('three-decker'), published by Cunningham and Mortimer for the Christmas 1842 market, uniformly bound in original brown publisher's cloth blocked in blind with gilt-lettered spines, and illustrated with 20 engraved plates by George Cruikshank. This followed prior serialization in Ainsworth's Magazine from January to October 1842, issued in ten monthly parts with two steel-engraved plates per part. Referenced in the standard bibliographies as Cohn 17 and Wolff 61, the latter noting the title as 'very rare.'

## Is this the true first?
The Ainsworth's Magazine serialization (January-October 1842, in ten monthly parts) preceded the three-volume book edition, published by Cunningham and Mortimer for the Christmas 1842 market as the serialization concluded.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Miser's Daughter: A Tale* by William Harrison Ainsworth a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-misers-daughter-a-tale
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.