# Is "The Return of Sherlock Holmes" by Arthur Conan Doyle a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (McClure, Phillips & Co., 1905) is identified by: True first: McClure, Phillips & Co., New York, published February 1905 (Green & Gibson A29c), in black ribbed cloth stamped in gold and red on the front panel with the spine lettered in yellow; frontispiece and twelve inserted plates by Charles Raymond Macauley (new plates for the book — not Frederic Dorr Steele's Collier's magazine images); 381 pp, thirteen stories. A famous precedence trap: the US McClure, Phillips edition (February 1905) PRECEDES the UK Newnes edition (7 March 1905) by roughly a month — confirmed by the Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia dates and dealer catalogs citing Green & Gibson.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first: McClure, Phillips & Co., New York, published February 1905 (Green & Gibson A29c), in black ribbed cloth stamped in gold and red on the front panel with the spine lettered in yellow; frontispiece and twelve inserted plates by Charles Raymond Macauley (new plates for the book — not Frederic Dorr Steele's Collier's magazine images)
- 381 pp, thirteen stories
- First English edition: George Newnes, London, 7 March 1905 (Green & Gibson A29a), dark blue cloth lettered in gilt on front cover and spine, sixteen plates including frontispiece from Sidney Paget's Strand illustrations, [8] + 403 + [1, printer's imprint] + [4, adverts] pp
- Publisher imprint reads McClure, Phillips & Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Arthur Conan Doyle |
| Publisher | McClure, Phillips & Co. |
| Year | 1905 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first: McClure, Phillips & Co., New York, published February 1905 (Green & Gibson A29c), in black ribbed cloth stamped in gold and red… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
True first: McClure, Phillips & Co., New York, published February 1905 (Green & Gibson A29c), in black ribbed cloth stamped in gold and red on the front panel with the spine lettered in yellow; frontispiece and twelve inserted plates by Charles Raymond Macauley (new plates for the book — not Frederic Dorr Steele's Collier's magazine images); 381 pp, thirteen stories. First English edition: George Newnes, London, 7 March 1905 (Green & Gibson A29a), dark blue cloth lettered in gilt on front cover and spine, sixteen plates including frontispiece from Sidney Paget's Strand illustrations, [8] + 403 + [1, printer's imprint] + [4, adverts] pp.

## Is this the true first?
A famous precedence trap: the US McClure, Phillips edition (February 1905) PRECEDES the UK Newnes edition (7 March 1905) by roughly a month — confirmed by the Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia dates and dealer catalogs citing Green & Gibson. At least one reputable catalog asserts the reverse (UK first); the dated records refute that. Both editions are collected: the McClure, Phillips as the true first, the Newnes as the first English edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
None documented in the sources consulted.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Return of Sherlock Holmes* by Arthur Conan Doyle a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-return-of-sherlock-holmes
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.