# Is "The Pioneers, or The Sources of the Susquehanna" by James Fenimore Cooper a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Pioneers, or The Sources of the Susquehanna by James Fenimore Cooper (Charles Wiley, 1823) is identified by: First edition, two volumes, published in New York by Charles Wiley on February 1, 1823, the first of the Leatherstocking Tales in order of publication; reportedly some 3,500 copies sold within hours of release. The New York Wiley edition (February 1, 1823) precedes the first English edition (John Murray, London, February 26, 1823) by about three weeks; no earlier printing in any other country is recorded.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, two volumes, published in New York by Charles Wiley on February 1, 1823, the first of the Leatherstocking Tales in order of publication; reportedly some 3,500 copies sold within hours of release
- Two states of volume one's preliminary leaves are recorded in Spiller & Blackburn's descriptive bibliography: the earlier state has "J. SEYMOUR, PRINTER" on the title page, with the copyright notice on page [ii] and a blank page [iv], while the later state substitutes "E. B. Clayton, Printer" and reverses that order, with a blank page [ii] and the copyright notice moved to page [iv]. Clayton, who printed all of volume two, is believed to have completed and reissued Wiley's front matter after Seymour's original printing
- On page 329 of volume two, the page number is set on the inside (gutter) margin rather than the outer corner, a further point of issue recorded in the same bibliography
- The sheets were issued in boards, uncut, with printed paper spine labels; volume two closes with a publisher's note on errata at page 332, part of every first-printing copy's standard collation
- Publisher imprint reads Charles Wiley
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | James Fenimore Cooper |
| Publisher | Charles Wiley |
| Year | 1823 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, two volumes, published in New York by Charles Wiley on February 1, 1823, the first of the Leatherstocking Tales in order of… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, two volumes, published in New York by Charles Wiley on February 1, 1823, the first of the Leatherstocking Tales in order of publication; reportedly some 3,500 copies sold within hours of release. Two states of volume one's preliminary leaves are recorded in Spiller & Blackburn's descriptive bibliography: the earlier state has "J. SEYMOUR, PRINTER" on the title page, with the copyright notice on page [ii] and a blank page [iv], while the later state substitutes "E. B. Clayton, Printer" and reverses that order, with a blank page [ii] and the copyright notice moved to page [iv]. Clayton, who printed all of volume two, is believed to have completed and reissued Wiley's front matter after Seymour's original printing. On page 329 of volume two, the page number is set on the inside (gutter) margin rather than the outer corner, a further point of issue recorded in the same bibliography. The sheets were issued in boards, uncut, with printed paper spine labels; volume two closes with a publisher's note on errata at page 332, part of every first-printing copy's standard collation.

## Is this the true first?
The New York Wiley edition (February 1, 1823) precedes the first English edition (John Murray, London, February 26, 1823) by about three weeks; no earlier printing in any other country is recorded.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The 1825 Collins & Hannay/Wiley reprint and the Carey, Lea & Carey Philadelphia editions beginning in 1827 reset the type for later numbered "editions"; none preserve the Seymour/Clayton title-page states, the page-329 margin numbering, or the original boards and paper labels of the true first printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Pioneers, or The Sources of the Susquehanna* by James Fenimore Cooper a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-pioneers-or-the-sources-of-the-susquehanna
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.