# Is "The Sea-Wolf" by Jack London a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Sea-Wolf by Jack London (The Macmillan Company, New York, 1904) is identified by: The true first was published by The Macmillan Company, New York, in October 1904 (BAL 11882); the copyright page carries 1903 and 1904 copyrights (the 1903 date from the Century magazine serialization) and "Published October, 1904." It is bound in blue cloth with top edge gilt, the front cover stamped in white lettering with an illustration in dark blue, white and red, and contains a frontispiece plus five inserted plates by W. US Macmillan (New York) October 1904 is the true first; the UK Heinemann edition also appeared in 1904 but follows the American issue.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first was published by The Macmillan Company, New York, in October 1904 (BAL 11882); the copyright page carries 1903 and 1904 copyrights (the 1903 date from the Century magazine serialization) and "Published October, 1904." It is bound in blue cloth with top edge gilt, the front cover stamped in white lettering with an illustration in dark blue, white and red, and contains a frontispiece plus five inserted plates by W. J. Aylward
- The point of issue is the spine lettering: the first-state binding has the spine lettered in GILT (Blanck's binding with priority, the scarcer state), while the second-state binding has the spine lettered in white
- Gilt-spine priority is confirmed against BAL/Blanck and multiple dealer catalog descriptions
- Publisher imprint reads The Macmillan Company, New York
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Jack London |
| Publisher | The Macmillan Company, New York |
| Year | 1904 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first was published by The Macmillan Company, New York, in October 1904 (BAL 11882); the copyright page carries 1903 and 1904… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The true first was published by The Macmillan Company, New York, in October 1904 (BAL 11882); the copyright page carries 1903 and 1904 copyrights (the 1903 date from the Century magazine serialization) and "Published October, 1904." It is bound in blue cloth with top edge gilt, the front cover stamped in white lettering with an illustration in dark blue, white and red, and contains a frontispiece plus five inserted plates by W. J. Aylward. The point of issue is the spine lettering: the first-state binding has the spine lettered in GILT (Blanck's binding with priority, the scarcer state), while the second-state binding has the spine lettered in white. Gilt-spine priority is confirmed against BAL/Blanck and multiple dealer catalog descriptions.

## Is this the true first?
US Macmillan (New York) October 1904 is the true first; the UK Heinemann edition also appeared in 1904 but follows the American issue. Collectors pursue the US Macmillan gilt-spine first state.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Grosset & Dunlap and Regent/reprint issues lack the Macmillan imprint and the Aylward plate suite; no period book-club edition bears on the 1904 first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Sea-Wolf* by Jack London a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-sea-wolf
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.