Is My The Pilgrim's Progress a First Edition?

The points of issue

• London: printed for Nath
• Ponder, at the Peacock in the Poultrey near Cornhil, 1678
• The census claim is confirmed
• Entered in the Stationers' Register 22 December 1677 and entered in the Term Catalogue 18 February 1678, the accepted date of publication
• FORMAT IS THE PRIMARY POINT: the first edition is an OCTAVO, collating iv, [10], 232, [1] pages
• Ponder's second edition, also 1678 and also from the Peacock in the Poultrey, was reset in the smaller DUODECIMO format that then remained standard for a century or more — so a 1678-dated copy in 12mo is the second edition, not the first

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. 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.
4. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. 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.
6. 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?

No UK-vs-US and no original-language question: London 1678 is the true first and only first, and the work is English. The First Part (1678) and the Second Part (1684) are separate publications; a set is not a 'first edition' unless both parts are the respective firsts. The spurious Third Part (c.1693) is not by Bunyan and was disowned — it is not part of the work.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The dominant reprint tell is the facsimile: Elliot Stock's line-for-line facsimile of the Holford first-edition copy (London, 1876; reissued New York, Baker & Taylor, 1878) reproduces the 1678 title page exactly and is routinely mistaken for the original. Its type was cast from moulds of 1720 and it is printed on modern paper; look for the Elliot Stock or Baker & Taylor imprint and the modern editorial preface. A 1970 facsimile reprint of Part 1 circulates as well. Beyond facsimiles, this is one of the most reprinted books in English — virtually all donor copies are 19th- or 20th-century illustrated reprints, many advertised as 'as originally published' or 'the first edition text', which are first-thus claims about the text, not first editions.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Pilgrim's Progress a first edition?

A first edition of The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan (Nathaniel Ponder, at the Peacock in the Poultrey near Cornhil, London) is identified by: London: printed for Nath.

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. No UK-vs-US and no original-language question: London 1678 is the true first and only first, and the work is English.

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

The dominant reprint tell is the facsimile: Elliot Stock's line-for-line facsimile of the Holford first-edition copy (London, 1876; reissued New York, Baker & Taylor, 1878) reproduces the 1678 title page exactly and is routinely mistaken for the original. Its type was cast from moulds of 1720 and it is printed on modern paper; look for the Elliot Stock or Baker & Taylor imprint and the modern editorial preface. A 1970 facsimile reprint of Part 1 circulates as well. Beyond facsimiles, this is one

I have a first edition of The Pilgrim's Progress — 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.