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. Later 1902 printings add subsequent months (June, July, August, and onward) to the copyright statement.
Is this the true first?
The US Macmillan 1902 first printing is the true first — the foundational Western novel. The April-dated printing was reprinted many times within 1902, so the month listed on the copyright page is decisive.
Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Numerous reprints within 1902 and after — copies whose copyright statement names later months, copies with weak or absent pictorial gilt, and Grosset & Dunlap reprints — are not the first.
Frequently asked questions
Is my copy of The Virginian a first edition?
Look for these first-edition points: 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. Later 1902 printings add subsequent months (June, July, August, and onward) to the copyright statement.
How do I tell the first printing from a later one?
Check the copyright page for the publisher's first-printing convention and confirm the points above. The US Macmillan 1902 first printing is the true first — the foundational Western novel. The April-dated printing was reprinted many times within 1902, so the month listed on the copyright page is decisive.
Is the book-club edition the same as the first?
Numerous reprints within 1902 and after — copies whose copyright statement names later months, copies with weak or absent pictorial gilt, and Grosset & Dunlap reprints — are not the first.
I have a first edition of The Virginian — what should I do?
If you're clearing books, New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup in Albuquerque, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies aren't lost. To sell, see the author's collecting guide. Either way, nothing valuable ends up in a landfill.