# Is "Tom Sawyer Abroad" by Mark Twain a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Tom Sawyer Abroad by Mark Twain (Charles L. Webster & Company, 1894) is identified by: The American first edition (BAL 3440), limited to 1,000 copies, is illustrated with half-tone plates by Dan Beard and runs 219 pages plus advertisements. The Webster (US) and Chatto & Windus (UK) editions were issued at essentially the same time in April 1894, and no priority has been established between them.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The American first edition (BAL 3440), limited to 1,000 copies, is illustrated with half-tone plates by Dan Beard and runs 219 pages plus advertisements
- Two binding states are recorded on the spine, distinguished by the gap between the words 'Webster' and 'Twain': one measures about 5 the printed price inches between them, the other about 5 the printed price inches, with no priority established between the two
- The British Chatto & Windus edition, also 1894, has 208 pages plus a 32-page advertisement catalogue dated February 1894, with 26 Beard illustrations, bound in red cloth with black cover and spine illustration
- Publisher imprint reads Charles L. Webster & Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Mark Twain |
| Publisher | Charles L. Webster & Company |
| Year | 1894 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The American first edition (BAL 3440), limited to 1,000 copies, is illustrated with half-tone plates by Dan Beard and runs 219 pages plus… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The American first edition (BAL 3440), limited to 1,000 copies, is illustrated with half-tone plates by Dan Beard and runs 219 pages plus advertisements. Two binding states are recorded on the spine, distinguished by the gap between the words 'Webster' and 'Twain': one measures about 5 the printed price inches between them, the other about 5 the printed price inches, with no priority established between the two. The British Chatto & Windus edition, also 1894, has 208 pages plus a 32-page advertisement catalogue dated February 1894, with 26 Beard illustrations, bound in red cloth with black cover and spine illustration.

## Is this the true first?
The Webster (US) and Chatto & Windus (UK) editions were issued at essentially the same time in April 1894, and no priority has been established between them. The two are not textually identical: the Webster edition follows the St. Nicholas Magazine serialization, which the magazine's editor had trimmed for a juvenile readership, while the Chatto & Windus edition was set from a fuller Clemens typescript.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Tom Sawyer Abroad* by Mark Twain a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/tom-sawyer-abroad
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.