Is My The Purple Cloud a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Octavo, collating pp. [1-4] [1] 2-463 [464: blank] [1] 2-4: advertisements, with a 32-page publisher's catalogue dated 'May, 1901' inserted at the rear
• The title page is printed in red and black and, on the first printing, carries NO statement of printing — the second printing is marked 'SECOND EDITION' on the title page, which is the decisive point
• Bound in original pictorial green cloth, front panel stamped in purple, black and white, spine panel stamped in purple, black and gold, top edges gilt, bottom edge untrimmed
• The book was published in September 1901; the rear catalogue dated May 1901 predates publication and is consistent with the first issue

How Chatto & Windus, London marked a first edition

• The sometimes-present statement is 'Published by Chatto & Windus' WITHOUT a date, plus the printer's imprint (often R. & R. Clark, Edinburgh, in the early-mid 20th c.). Treat the claimed 'First published in Great Britain…

Full Chatto & Windus, London first-edition guide →

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. 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.
5. 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?

The true first is the London edition: Chatto & Windus, September 1901 — the census claim is confirmed. The novel had appeared earlier in serial form, illustrated by J. J. Cameron, in The Royal Magazine, Vol. V, nos. 27-30 and Vol. VI, nos. 31-32, January-June 1901; the serial precedes the book but is a magazine appearance, not an edition. The 1901 Chatto text runs to 463 pages and is the longest version, preferred by many readers. Shiel drafted three versions between 1901 and 1929; the Victor Gollancz, London, 1929 edition is a substantially revised and condensed text of 288 pages. Both the 1901 original text and the 1929 revision are collected, but the Gollancz is a 'first thus' — first edition of the revised text — and never the first edition of the novel.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue documented for the 1901 Chatto & Windus printing. The in-house trap is the Chatto second printing, distinguished by 'SECOND EDITION' stated on the title page where the first printing states nothing. The other standing trap is the 1929 Victor Gollancz revision, which is a different text at 288 pages against the original's 463 and must not be catalogued as the first edition; later paperback and small-press editions reprinting the 1901 text are likewise reprints.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Purple Cloud a first edition?

A first edition of The Purple Cloud by M. P. Shiel (Chatto & Windus, London) is identified by: [1-4] [1] 2-463 [464: blank] [1] 2-4: advertisements, with a 32-page publisher's catalogue dated 'May, 1901' inserted at the rear.

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. The true first is the London edition: Chatto & Windus, September 1901 — the census claim is confirmed.

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

No book-club issue documented for the 1901 Chatto & Windus printing. The in-house trap is the Chatto second printing, distinguished by 'SECOND EDITION' stated on the title page where the first printing states nothing. The other standing trap is the 1929 Victor Gollancz revision, which is a different text at 288 pages against the original's 463 and must not be catalogued as the first edition; later paperback and small-press editions reprinting the 1901 text are likewise reprints.

I have a first edition of The Purple Cloud — 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.