Is My The Theory of Moral Sentiments a First Edition?

The points of issue

• One volume, thick octavo (c
• 202 × 123 mm), published April 1759 in a recorded edition of 1,000 copies
• The imprint reads 'Printed for A. Millar, in the Strand; and A. Kincaid and J. Bell, in Edinburgh
• MDCCLIX.' — the Edinburgh names are an integral part of the first-edition imprint, not a later addition
• Collation: [xii], 551, [1] errata
• The key point is a pagination anomaly that regularly misleads buyers into thinking a copy is defective: pp

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
3. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
5. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

The census claim is correct as to the 1759 Millar first, but the imprint is joint — London (Millar) and Edinburgh (Kincaid and Bell) — and a description naming Millar alone is incomplete. The work was written and first published in English in London, so no UK/US or original-language precedence question arises; American printings are much later and are not collected as firsts. The real precedence trap is internal to the edition sequence: the sixth edition of 1790, extensively revised by Smith in the last year of his life and adding the whole of Part VI, is the definitive text and the basis of nearly every modern edition — so the 'standard text' and the true first are different books, and 1790 sets are often offered in language that blurs the distinction.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club editions for a 1759 title. The most reliable tell is where the title-page stops: the first edition's title-page ends at 'The Theory of Moral Sentiments'. From the third edition (1767) onward, the title-page and contents add 'To which is added a Dissertation on the Origin of Languages' — Smith's 'Considerations concerning the First Formation of Languages', which had first appeared separately in The Philological Miscellany in 1761. A widely repeated error assigns that addition to the second edition of 1761; the sources consulted place it at the third edition of 1767. Accordingly, any Theory of Moral Sentiments whose title-page mentions the Languages dissertation, or which carries any edition statement, is 1767 or later.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Theory of Moral Sentiments a first edition?

A first edition of The Theory of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith (Printed for A. Millar, London; and A. Kincaid and J. Bell, Edinburgh) is identified by: One volume, thick octavo (c.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. The census claim is correct as to the 1759 Millar first, but the imprint is joint — London (Millar) and Edinburgh (Kincaid and Bell) — and a description naming Millar alone is incomplete.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

No book-club editions for a 1759 title. The most reliable tell is where the title-page stops: the first edition's title-page ends at 'The Theory of Moral Sentiments'. From the third edition (1767) onward, the title-page and contents add 'To which is added a Dissertation on the Origin of Languages' — Smith's 'Considerations concerning the First Formation of Languages', which had first appeared separately in The Philological Miscellany in 1761. A widely repeated error assigns that addition to the

I have a first edition of The Theory of Moral Sentiments — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.