# Is "The Pickwick Papers (The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club)" by Charles Dickens a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Pickwick Papers (The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club) by Charles Dickens (Chapman & Hall, 1836-1837) is identified by: True first is the 20 (in 19) monthly parts in printed wrappers, April 1836 to November 1837. The original parts are the true first and are prized over the 1837 bound volume.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is the 20 (in 19) monthly parts in printed wrappers, April 1836 to November 1837
- Robert Seymour illustrated Part I (four plates) before his death by suicide after the first number
- R. W. Buss illustrated Part III on an interim basis (two plates) before being replaced
- Hablot K. Browne ('Phiz') then took over for the remainder, his early plates signed 'Nemo' (his pseudonym before 'Phiz') in Part IV. Sam Weller first appears in Part IV (chapter 10, July 1836), the instalment that made the serial a sensation
- A 'prime' set carries a recognized run of points including 1836-dated wrappers on the early parts, the Seymour wording on Parts I-II wrappers, the Buss wording on Part III, the Buss plates unre-etched in Part III, the 'Nemo'-signed plates in Part IV, and the correct address and advertisement inserts
- The 1837 one-volume first book edition has the Phiz plates and the Talfourd dedication
- Publisher imprint reads Chapman & Hall

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Charles Dickens |
| Publisher | Chapman & Hall |
| Year | 1836-1837 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first is the 20 (in 19) monthly parts in printed wrappers, April 1836 to November 1837 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
True first is the 20 (in 19) monthly parts in printed wrappers, April 1836 to November 1837. Robert Seymour illustrated Part I (four plates) before his death by suicide after the first number; R. W. Buss illustrated Part III on an interim basis (two plates) before being replaced; Hablot K. Browne ('Phiz') then took over for the remainder, his early plates signed 'Nemo' (his pseudonym before 'Phiz') in Part IV. Sam Weller first appears in Part IV (chapter 10, July 1836), the instalment that made the serial a sensation. A 'prime' set carries a recognized run of points including 1836-dated wrappers on the early parts, the Seymour wording on Parts I-II wrappers, the Buss wording on Part III, the Buss plates unre-etched in Part III, the 'Nemo'-signed plates in Part IV, and the correct address and advertisement inserts. The 1837 one-volume first book edition has the Phiz plates and the Talfourd dedication.

## Is this the true first?
The original parts are the true first and are prized over the 1837 bound volume. Plate states across the Seymour/Buss/Phiz succession govern the points; mixed-plate and made-up sets are common.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Countless later one-volume reprints exist; any single bound volume dated after 1837, or lacking the Phiz plates, is not the part-issue first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Pickwick Papers (The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club)* by Charles Dickens a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-pickwick-papers-the-posthumous-papers-of-the-pickwick-cl
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.