Is My The Tower of London: A Historical Romance a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, octavo, published by Richard Bentley in 1840 (Cohn 14), collating xvi + 439 pages plus an engraved frontispiece, 39 further inserted engraved plates, and 58 in-text wood engravings, all by George Cruikshank
• The work was first issued in 13 monthly parts in illustrated wrappers (January-December 1840) before being gathered into the single-volume octavo; sets bound up from the parts, or assembled soon after, are most often found in half leather over marbled boards with a gilt-lettered spine, though publisher's cloth bindings are also recorded
• A first-issue point identifies early copies by three specific plates (at pages 16, 28, and 45) appearing in their first state per Cohn's Cruikshank bibliography; the same three plates appear in a recognizably later, second state in subsequent printings

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. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. 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.
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?

Originally issued in 13 monthly parts (January-December 1840) in pictorial wrappers, with the complete bound octavo volume appearing alongside the final part in December 1840; the first-state plate points at pages 16, 28, and 45 apply whether a copy survives in parts or was bound up into a volume.P-034735

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later printings carry the same three key plates (pp. 16, 28, 45) in their second state per Cohn; a copy with those plates already in the second state is a later printing rather than the earliest issue.P-034736

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Tower of London: A Historical Romance a first edition?

A first edition of The Tower of London: A Historical Romance by William Harrison Ainsworth (Richard Bentley) is identified by: First edition, octavo, published by Richard Bentley in 1840 (Cohn 14), collating xvi + 439 pages plus an engraved frontispiece, 39 further inserted engraved plates, and 58 in-text wood engravings, all by George Cruikshank.

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. Originally issued in 13 monthly parts (January-December 1840) in pictorial wrappers, with the complete bound octavo volume appearing alongside the final part in December 1840; the first-state plate points at pages 16, 28, and 45 apply whether a copy survives in parts or was bound up into a volume.

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

Later printings carry the same three key plates (pp. 16, 28, 45) in their second state per Cohn; a copy with those plates already in the second state is a later printing rather than the earliest issue.

I have a first edition of The Tower of London: A Historical Romance — 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.