# Is "The Yellow Wall Paper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (credited as Charlotte Perkins Stetson) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Yellow Wall Paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (credited as Charlotte Perkins Stetson) (Small, Maynard & Company, 1899) is identified by: First book-form publication of the story, which had originally run in New England Magazine in January 1892; Small, Maynard issued it in June 1899 as a slim stand-alone monograph with decorative yellow and orange paper-covered boards designed by E. The story's true first appearance in any form is the New England Magazine periodical printing of January 1892; the Small, Maynard volume of June 1899 is the first separate BOOK edition, which is what is generally meant by "first edition" for this title.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First book-form publication of the story, which had originally run in New England Magazine in January 1892
- Small, Maynard issued it in June 1899 as a slim stand-alone monograph with decorative yellow and orange paper-covered boards designed by E. B. Bird, setting the text from the New England Magazine printing
- As with her other Small, Maynard title of the same year, the author is credited on the title page as "Charlotte Perkins Stetson," not Gilman, and the verso states the text was "Reprinted from The New England Magazine of January, 1892." The volume was issued as an individual small-format monograph rather than folded into any of Gilman's short-story collections, which is why the 1899 Small, Maynard printing, rather than any later anthology appearance, is treated as the first separate book edition of the story
- Publisher imprint reads Small, Maynard & Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Charlotte Perkins Gilman (credited as Charlotte Perkins Stetson) |
| Publisher | Small, Maynard & Company |
| Year | 1899 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First book-form publication of the story, which had originally run in New England Magazine in January 1892 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First book-form publication of the story, which had originally run in New England Magazine in January 1892; Small, Maynard issued it in June 1899 as a slim stand-alone monograph with decorative yellow and orange paper-covered boards designed by E. B. Bird, setting the text from the New England Magazine printing. As with her other Small, Maynard title of the same year, the author is credited on the title page as "Charlotte Perkins Stetson," not Gilman, and the verso states the text was "Reprinted from The New England Magazine of January, 1892." The volume was issued as an individual small-format monograph rather than folded into any of Gilman's short-story collections, which is why the 1899 Small, Maynard printing, rather than any later anthology appearance, is treated as the first separate book edition of the story.

## Is this the true first?
The story's true first appearance in any form is the New England Magazine periodical printing of January 1892; the Small, Maynard volume of June 1899 is the first separate BOOK edition, which is what is generally meant by "first edition" for this title.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Small, Maynard issued a second printing/edition from the same setting in 1901, again in yellow decorated paper-covered boards lettered in black, so a copy's printing should be confirmed from the title page and imprint date rather than assumed from the cover design alone.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Yellow Wall Paper* by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (credited as Charlotte Perkins Stetson) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-yellow-wall-paper
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.