# Is "The Scarlet Letter: A Romance" by Nathaniel Hawthorne a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Scarlet Letter: A Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne (Ticknor, Reed & Fields, 1850) is identified by: First edition, first printing of 2,500 copies, Ticknor, Reed & Fields, Boston, 1850, in brown cloth with blind-stamped covers. US true first edition, Ticknor, Reed & Fields, 1850.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing of 2,500 copies, Ticknor, Reed & Fields, Boston, 1850, in brown cloth with blind-stamped covers
- The most cited first-printing reading is 'reduplicate' for 'repudiate' at page 21, line 20; scholars note this arose from two settings of the gathering containing page 21, so it is best described as a first-printing textual reading rather than an absolute point of issue
- The first printing does NOT contain the additional 'Custom-House' preface note
- Confirm the 1850 imprint and the early textual readings on any given copy
- Publisher imprint reads Ticknor, Reed & Fields
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Nathaniel Hawthorne |
| Publisher | Ticknor, Reed & Fields |
| Year | 1850 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing of 2,500 copies, Ticknor, Reed & Fields, Boston, 1850, in brown cloth with blind-stamped covers |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing of 2,500 copies, Ticknor, Reed & Fields, Boston, 1850, in brown cloth with blind-stamped covers. The most cited first-printing reading is 'reduplicate' for 'repudiate' at page 21, line 20; scholars note this arose from two settings of the gathering containing page 21, so it is best described as a first-printing textual reading rather than an absolute point of issue. The first printing does NOT contain the additional 'Custom-House' preface note. Confirm the 1850 imprint and the early textual readings on any given copy.

## Is this the true first?
US true first edition, Ticknor, Reed & Fields, 1850. The first printing of 2,500 copies sold quickly and a second printing of 2,500 followed within weeks. The second printing ADDED Hawthorne's preface (dated March 30, 1850) responding to the controversy over 'The Custom-House' sketch, in which he reprinted the introduction without change; the presence of that preface indicates the second printing, not the first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Numerous later reprints exist. A first printing must bear the 1850 Ticknor, Reed & Fields imprint and the brown blind-stamped cloth, and must LACK the added preface note that distinguishes the second printing. Treat any single textual reading cautiously, as scholars dispute its reliability as an issue point.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Scarlet Letter: A Romance* by Nathaniel Hawthorne a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-scarlet-letter-a-romance
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.