Is My The Red Rover: A Tale a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The earliest printing of the text is an English-language edition produced in Paris for the bookseller Hector Bossange, printed by Lachevardiere, title-paged 1827 with a wrapper dated 1828; although sometimes described as a French edition, its title page reads "THE RED ROVER, A TALE" in English, and it is distinct from "Le Corsaire rouge," the genuine French-language translation Charles Gosselin published separately in Paris the same year
• Henry Colburn's three-volume London edition followed within days -- Cooper's wife recalled simultaneous publication on November 27, 1827, while a later account attributed to Richard Bentley placed London three days behind, on November 30
• The Philadelphia edition from Carey, Lea & Carey did not appear until January 9, 1828; per Spiller & Blackburn's descriptive bibliography, its second volume carries one leaf of publisher's advertisements at the back
• Both the London and Philadelphia first editions were issued in publisher's boards with paper spine labels, the Philadelphia sheets in distinctive light-blue boards with white paper spines

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 American 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?

Bossange's Paris printing was produced before the London edition and, per Spiller & Blackburn, is the earliest printing of the text; it is in English, not French, despite occasionally being mislabeled, and should not be confused with "Le Corsaire rouge," the true French-language translation Gosselin published separately. Henry Colburn's London edition (November 1827) is the first English-language trade edition, and Carey, Lea & Carey's Philadelphia edition (January 9, 1828) is the first American edition, about six weeks later.P-034552

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Cooper's own revised text appeared in Richard Bentley's 1834 "Standard Novels" edition, whose new preface admits the original "has been found to be full of errors, in style, orthography, and taste"; this and later Putnam and Stringer & Townsend reprints reset the type in uniform bindings and do not reproduce the 1827-28 boards-and-paper-label format of the first editions.P-034553

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Red Rover: A Tale a first edition?

A first edition of The Red Rover: A Tale by James Fenimore Cooper (Henry Colburn) is identified by: The earliest printing of the text is an English-language edition produced in Paris for the bookseller Hector Bossange, printed by Lachevardiere, title-paged 1827 with a wrapper dated 1828; although sometimes described as a French edition, its title page reads "THE RED ROVER, A TALE" in English, and it is distinct from "Le Corsaire rouge," the genuine French-language translation Charles Gosselin published separately in Paris the same year.

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. Bossange's Paris printing was produced before the London edition and, per Spiller & Blackburn, is the earliest printing of the text; it is in English, not French, despite occasionally being mislabeled, and should not be confused with "Le Corsaire rouge," the true French-language translation Gosselin published separately.

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

Cooper's own revised text appeared in Richard Bentley's 1834 "Standard Novels" edition, whose new preface admits the original "has been found to be full of errors, in style, orthography, and taste"; this and later Putnam and Stringer & Townsend reprints reset the type in uniform bindings and do not reproduce the 1827-28 boards-and-paper-label format of the first editions.

I have a first edition of The Red Rover: A Tale — 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.