# Is "The Sign of Four" by Arthur Conan Doyle a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle (Spencer Blackett, 1890) is identified by: First book edition, October 1890, after the February 1890 appearance in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine as 'The Sign of the Four'. True first appearance = Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, February 1890 (titled 'The Sign of the Four').

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First book edition, October 1890, after the February 1890 appearance in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine as 'The Sign of the Four'
- Decisive first-state points: on the Contents leaf (p.[iii]) the figure reads '13' for '138' (incomplete numeral); on page 56, line 16, 'wished' is misprinted 'w shed'; the binding is stamped 'Spencer Blackett's Standard Library'; frontispiece after Charles Kerr; red cloth with black decorative border and gilt
- Publisher imprint reads Spencer Blackett
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Arthur Conan Doyle |
| Publisher | Spencer Blackett |
| Year | 1890 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First book edition, October 1890, after the February 1890 appearance in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine as 'The Sign of the Four' |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First book edition, October 1890, after the February 1890 appearance in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine as 'The Sign of the Four'. Decisive first-state points: on the Contents leaf (p.[iii]) the figure reads '13' for '138' (incomplete numeral); on page 56, line 16, 'wished' is misprinted 'w shed'; the binding is stamped 'Spencer Blackett's Standard Library'; frontispiece after Charles Kerr; red cloth with black decorative border and gilt.

## Is this the true first?
True first appearance = Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, February 1890 (titled 'The Sign of the Four'). First book edition = Spencer Blackett 1890 (titled 'The Sign of Four'), with the '13'-for-'138' Contents point and the 'w shed'-for-'wished' point on page 56.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later issues and reprints correct the '13'/'138' and 'w shed' errors.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Sign of Four* by Arthur Conan Doyle a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-sign-of-four
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.