# Is "The Stones of Venice" by John Ruskin a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Stones of Venice by John Ruskin (Smith, Elder and Co., 1851) is identified by: First edition in three volumes, London: Smith, Elder and Co.: Volume I, "The Foundations," 1851, xv,[1],413pp, with a tipped-in errata slip and 21 plates (four hand-colored); Volume II, "The Sea-Stories," 1853, vi,[2],394pp, with 20 plates (two hand-colored); Volume III, "The Fall," 1853, [2],362pp, with 12 plates (one hand-colored).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition in three volumes, London: Smith, Elder and Co.: Volume I, "The Foundations," 1851, xv,[1],413pp, with a tipped-in errata slip and 21 plates (four hand-colored)
- Volume II, "The Sea-Stories," 1853, vi,[2],394pp, with 20 plates (two hand-colored)
- Volume III, "The Fall," 1853, [2],362pp, with 12 plates (one hand-colored)
- All fifty-three full-page illustrations across the set were drawn by Ruskin himself, then put onto mezzotint and lithographic plates by engravers including Thomas Lupton, J. C. Armytage, and R. P. Cuff, with numerous further wood-engraved diagrams printed within the text
- Because the plate count and hand-coloring differ by volume, a genuine first-edition set must retain the full, volume-specific plate count for all three volumes along with the Volume I errata slip
- Publisher imprint reads Smith, Elder and Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John Ruskin |
| Publisher | Smith, Elder and Co. |
| Year | 1851 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition in three volumes, London: Smith, Elder and Co.: Volume I, "The Foundations," 1851, xv,[1],413pp, with a tipped-in errata slip… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition in three volumes, London: Smith, Elder and Co.: Volume I, "The Foundations," 1851, xv,[1],413pp, with a tipped-in errata slip and 21 plates (four hand-colored); Volume II, "The Sea-Stories," 1853, vi,[2],394pp, with 20 plates (two hand-colored); Volume III, "The Fall," 1853, [2],362pp, with 12 plates (one hand-colored). All fifty-three full-page illustrations across the set were drawn by Ruskin himself, then put onto mezzotint and lithographic plates by engravers including Thomas Lupton, J. C. Armytage, and R. P. Cuff, with numerous further wood-engraved diagrams printed within the text. Because the plate count and hand-coloring differ by volume, a genuine first-edition set must retain the full, volume-specific plate count for all three volumes along with the Volume I errata slip.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Stones of Venice* by John Ruskin a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-stones-of-venice
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.