Is My Copy of The Water-Witch, or The Skimmer of the Seas a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Cooper, then living in Dresden, arranged for a small edition to be printed there in English by C. C. Meinhold & Sons for the bookseller Walther, issued shortly before September 18, 1830; this Continental printing preceded Henry Colburn & Richard Bentley's three-volume London edition of October 14, 1830, and the Philadelphia edition from Carey & Lea, released December 11, 1830 though dated 1831 on its title page
• The definitive textual point of issue, recorded in Spiller & Blackburn's descriptive bibliography, is a misprint on page [3], line 1, of volume two of the Carey & Lea sheets: "mnch" for "much." Two states of the advertisement leaves bound into the front of volume one of the Carey & Lea sheets are recorded: four leaves plus two more dated November 1830, or six leaves dated March 1831
• The Carey & Lea first edition was issued in blue boards, uncut, with a white paper spine and paper labels, and also, for retail, in cut leather bindings; the London edition was issued in boards with paper labels

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. Verify this is the American 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?

The Dresden printing (before September 18, 1830) is the true first printing of the text; Spiller & Blackburn call The Water-Witch "the only genuine Continental first" among Cooper's novels printed abroad, since it was actually issued for sale in Dresden about a month before the London edition and roughly three months before the first American edition. London (Colburn & Bentley, October 14, 1830) is the first English trade edition; the Carey & Lea Philadelphia sheets, though title-paged 1831, were released December 11, 1830.P-034557

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Carey's 1838 and 1841 Philadelphia reprints, the 1849 Stringer & Townsend edition, and George Putnam's 1851 revised edition reset the type in uniform bindings without the advertisement-leaf states or the original blue-boards-and-label format of the 1830 Carey & Lea sheets, and none carry the "mnch" misprint.P-034558

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Water-Witch, or The Skimmer of the Seas a first edition?

A first edition of The Water-Witch, or The Skimmer of the Seas by James Fenimore Cooper (Henry Colburn & Richard Bentley) is identified by: Cooper, then living in Dresden, arranged for a small edition to be printed there in English by C. C. Meinhold & Sons for the bookseller Walther, issued shortly before September 18, 1830; this Continental printing preceded Henry Colburn & Richard Bentley's three-volume London edition of October 14, 1830, and the Philadelphia edition from Carey & Lea, released December 11, 1830 though dated 1831 on its title page.

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 Dresden printing (before September 18, 1830) is the true first printing of the text; Spiller & Blackburn call The Water-Witch "the only genuine Continental first" among Cooper's novels printed abroad, since it was actually issued for sale in Dresden about a month before the London edition and roughly three months before the first American edition.

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

Carey's 1838 and 1841 Philadelphia reprints, the 1849 Stringer & Townsend edition, and George Putnam's 1851 revised edition reset the type in uniform bindings without the advertisement-leaf states or the original blue-boards-and-label format of the 1830 Carey & Lea sheets, and none carry the "mnch" misprint.

I have a first edition of The Water-Witch, or The Skimmer of the Seas — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.