# Is "Trilby" by George du Maurier a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Trilby by George du Maurier (Harper & Brothers, 1894) 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. 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.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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
- Publisher imprint reads Harper & Brothers
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | George du Maurier |
| Publisher | Harper & Brothers |
| Year | 1894 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First published in book form by Harper & Brothers, New York, on 8 September 1894, following serialization in Harper's New Monthly Magazine… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## 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.

## 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.

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Trilby* by George du Maurier a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/trilby
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.