Is My The Virginian a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First printing has a copyright page reading "Copyright, 1902, By The Macmillan Company
• Set up and electrotyped
• Published April, 1902" with no later months listed
• Issued in tan cloth, the upper cover lettered in red with a red, black, and gilt pictorial design of a holstered pistol intertwined with a lariat
• Collation xiv, 504, [6] pp.; eight black-and-white plates by Arthur I. Keller
• The dedication to Theodore Roosevelt appears in this and all subsequent printings, so it is not a distinguishing point

How Macmillan marked a first edition

• FIRM SPLIT FIRST — this is the master rule. 'Macmillan' is not one publisher. The London parent was founded in 1843 by Daniel and Alexander Macmillan; George Edward Brett opened the New York office in 1869; in 1896 the f…
• US Macmillan, pre-late-1800s: no printing statement was used. Treat the book as a first only when the date on the TITLE page matches the last (latest) date on the copyright page. A title-page year EARLIER than the latest…

Full Macmillan first-edition guide →

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. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. 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.
6. 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?

US Macmillan (1902) is the true first—the foundational cowboy novel. Precedence among 1902 Macmillan printings is determined by the copyright-page reprint listing: the first printing shows only 'Published April, 1902' with no subsequent reprint dates. Multiple 1902 printings exist, so the reprint list is decisive.P-037074

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No 1902 book-club edition. The confusion is the numerous 1902-and-later reprints: copies whose copyright statement names later months (May 1902 onward), copies with weak or absent pictorial gilt, and Grosset & Dunlap and other reprint-house editions. The decisive check is "Published April, 1902" with no later months listed.P-037075

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Virginian a first edition?

A first edition of The Virginian by Owen Wister (Macmillan) is identified by: First printing has a copyright page reading "Copyright, 1902, By The Macmillan Company.

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. US Macmillan (1902) is the true first—the foundational cowboy novel.

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

No 1902 book-club edition. The confusion is the numerous 1902-and-later reprints: copies whose copyright statement names later months (May 1902 onward), copies with weak or absent pictorial gilt, and Grosset & Dunlap and other reprint-house editions. The decisive check is "Published April, 1902" with no later months listed.

I have a first edition of The Virginian — 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.