Is My Trilby a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First published in book form by Harper & Brothers, New York, on 8 September 1894, following serialization in Harper's New Monthly Magazine (January-August 1894); the first English edition followed the same year in three volumes from Osgood, McIlvaine & Co., London, bound in buff cloth blocked and lettered in blue
• A distinct one-volume, fully illustrated Osgood, McIlvaine edition with du Maurier's own drawings appeared in 1895, including a large-paper limited issue of 250 copies signed by the author
• The three-volume set is recorded as Sadleir 1675 and Wolff 1952a in the standard bibliographies of Victorian three-decker fiction, the references dealers cite to confirm a genuine set

How Harper & Brothers marked a first edition

• 1912-1949: month/year letter code on copyright page. Month: A=Jan, B=Feb, C=Mar, D=Apr, E=May, F=Jun, G=Jul, H=Aug, I=Sep, K=Oct, L=Nov, M=Dec (J skipped).
• Year code (J skipped): M=1912, N=1913 ... Z=1925, then A=1926, B=1927 ... Z=1950 (cycles).

Full Harper & Brothers first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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?

Harper & Brothers dated its New York edition 8 September 1894; Osgood, McIlvaine's three-volume London edition, the first English edition, also appeared that year, and dealers generally treat the two as separate national first editions rather than assigning firm day-by-day priority between them. Both book editions already carry revised text: the Harper's Magazine serial (January-August 1894) had caricatured the painter Whistler as 'Joe Sibley,' with an accompanying drawing, and after Whistler's protest (published 16 June 1894) and Harper's written apology (31 August 1894) the character was renamed 'Antony' and given a non-Whistlerian beard before either book edition was printed.P-035082

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The 1895 one-volume illustrated Osgood, McIlvaine edition, though close in date, is a later, separate setting and not the three-volume 1894 first English edition. Sadleir's bibliography also notes that Osgood, McIlvaine reprinted the three-volume set from the same setting of type while adding inflated edition statements such as 'seventh edition' to the title or copyright page to suggest strong demand, so an edition statement alone does not distinguish a first printing; collation and binding details must be checked instead.P-035083

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Trilby a first edition?

A first edition of Trilby by George du Maurier (Harper & Brothers) is identified by: First published in book form by Harper & Brothers, New York, on 8 September 1894, following serialization in Harper's New Monthly Magazine (January-August 1894); the first English edition followed the same year in three volumes from Osgood, McIlvaine & Co., London, bound in buff cloth blocked and lettered in blue.

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. Harper & Brothers dated its New York edition 8 September 1894; Osgood, McIlvaine's three-volume London edition, the first English edition, also appeared that year, and dealers generally treat the two as separate national first editions rather than assigning firm day-by-day priority between them.

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

The 1895 one-volume illustrated Osgood, McIlvaine edition, though close in date, is a later, separate setting and not the three-volume 1894 first English edition. Sadleir's bibliography also notes that Osgood, McIlvaine reprinted the three-volume set from the same setting of type while adding inflated edition statements such as 'seventh edition' to the title or copyright page to suggest strong demand, so an edition statement alone does not distinguish a first printing; collation and binding deta

I have a first edition of Trilby — 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.