# Is "The Ring and the Book" by Robert Browning a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Ring and the Book by Robert Browning (Smith, Elder and Co., 1868) is identified by: First edition in four volumes issued serially, collating approximately [iv], 245, [1]pp; [iv], 251pp; [iv], 249pp; and [iv], 235pp. Issued in four separate volumes over several months, the first two in November-December 1868 and the last two in early 1869; a complete first-edition set must comprise all four volumes with matching first-issue points, since some volumes were reprinted before all four had appeared.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition in four volumes issued serially, collating approximately [iv], 245, [1]pp; [iv], 251pp; [iv], 249pp; and [iv], 235pp
- First issue is distinguished by inconsistent spine numbering: volumes I and III are numbered in roman type and volumes II and IV in arabic type on the spines
- Bound in the publisher's green beveled cloth, blind- and gilt-stamped, with gilt-lettered spines
- Publisher imprint reads Smith, Elder and Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert Browning |
| Publisher | Smith, Elder and Co. |
| Year | 1868 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | First edition in four volumes issued serially, collating approximately [iv], 245, [1]pp; [iv], 251pp; [iv], 249pp; and [iv], 235pp |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition in four volumes issued serially, collating approximately [iv], 245, [1]pp; [iv], 251pp; [iv], 249pp; and [iv], 235pp. First issue is distinguished by inconsistent spine numbering: volumes I and III are numbered in roman type and volumes II and IV in arabic type on the spines. Bound in the publisher's green beveled cloth, blind- and gilt-stamped, with gilt-lettered spines.

## Is this the true first?
Issued in four separate volumes over several months, the first two in November-December 1868 and the last two in early 1869; a complete first-edition set must comprise all four volumes with matching first-issue points, since some volumes were reprinted before all four had appeared.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
One-volume collected reprints of The Ring and the Book, increasingly common from later in the nineteenth century onward, are not the four-volume first edition and lack the roman/arabic spine-numbering point.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Ring and the Book* by Robert Browning a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-ring-and-the-book
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.