Is My The Trumpet-Major a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First published in three volumes by Smith, Elder & Co. on 26 October 1880, in an edition of 1,000 sets, following serialization in Good Words
• The primary first-issue binding (600 of the sets) is red diagonal-fine-ribbed cloth, front cover stamped in black with a three-panel design showing an encampment vignette above and a mill vignette below (both drawn by Hardy himself), the rear cover stamped in blind with a double-rule border, and the imprint 'Smith, Elder & Co.' at the foot of the spine
• A secondary binding of about 150 sets issued shortly afterward has a triple-rule blind border on the rear cover instead of double; roughly 250 further sets of sheets went unbound for about two years before being cased up later
• Volumes I and II lack a preliminary blank leaf

How Smith, Elder & Co. marked a first edition

• Original publisher's cloth binding (blind- and gilt-stamped), correct half-titles present, and an uncut or unopened text block support a first-issue state.

Full Smith, Elder & Co. first-edition guide →

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. 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.
4. 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 Good Words serialization (January-December 1880) was edited by Donald Macleod to remove content he judged unsuitable for the magazine's family readership; Hardy restored this material for the three-volume Smith, Elder & Co. book edition, so the October 1880 book text -- not the magazine text -- represents Hardy's fuller version of the novel.P-034818

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The three-volume first edition was followed by a one-volume 'New Edition' reprinted through the 1880s and 1890s; Hardy added a new preface addressing plagiarism accusations about his source material to an 1895 one-volume printing. These later one-volume reprints do not carry the three-volume first edition's binding-state points (the two-rule and three-rule rear-cover variants).P-034819

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Trumpet-Major a first edition?

A first edition of The Trumpet-Major by Thomas Hardy (Smith, Elder & Co.) is identified by: First published in three volumes by Smith, Elder & Co.

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 Good Words serialization (January-December 1880) was edited by Donald Macleod to remove content he judged unsuitable for the magazine's family readership; Hardy restored this material for the three-volume Smith, Elder & Co.

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

The three-volume first edition was followed by a one-volume 'New Edition' reprinted through the 1880s and 1890s; Hardy added a new preface addressing plagiarism accusations about his source material to an 1895 one-volume printing. These later one-volume reprints do not carry the three-volume first edition's binding-state points (the two-rule and three-rule rear-cover variants).

I have a first edition of The Trumpet-Major — 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.