Is My War and Peace a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The Clara Bell translation, rendered from a French version rather than directly from the Russian, was issued in the United States by William S. Gottsberger, New York, as six small octavo volumes bound in three two-volume installments across 1886, beginning in January
• The title page states the translation lineage explicitly: 'Translated into French by a Russian Lady, and from the French by Clara Bell; revised and corrected in the United States.' Because no direct Russian-to-English translation of the novel existed until 1889, this text was rendered at two removes from Tolstoy's original

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. 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?

The Gottsberger (New York) edition holds clear priority: its three two-volume installments appeared across 1886 beginning in January, well ahead of any English edition in Britain. Vizetelly & Co. of London did not issue an independent translation but pirated Bell's Gottsberger text without attribution, publishing it in three volumes in October 1886, as recorded in the Publisher's Circular of 15 October 1886; it is not a rival authorized edition.P-036288

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The later authorized translations made directly from the Russian (by Nathan Haskell Dole for Crowell in 1889, and Constance Garnett's 1904 version) are textually independent of the 1886 Bell/Gottsberger edition; a modern reprint using Garnett's, Maude's, or a later translator's text is unrelated to the first English edition.P-036289

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of War and Peace a first edition?

A first edition of War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (William S. Gottsberger) is identified by: The Clara Bell translation, rendered from a French version rather than directly from the Russian, was issued in the United States by William S.

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 Gottsberger (New York) edition holds clear priority: its three two-volume installments appeared across 1886 beginning in January, well ahead of any English edition in Britain.

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

The later authorized translations made directly from the Russian (by Nathan Haskell Dole for Crowell in 1889, and Constance Garnett's 1904 version) are textually independent of the 1886 Bell/Gottsberger edition; a modern reprint using Garnett's, Maude's, or a later translator's text is unrelated to the first English edition.

I have a first edition of War and Peace — 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.