Is My Windsor Castle: An Historical Romance a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition in book form, three volumes octavo, published by Henry Colburn in 1843 following serialization in Ainsworth's Magazine (July 1842-June 1843)
• Original binding is half black cloth over drab boards with printed paper spine labels, edges uncut; a half title appears only in volume III. A significant illustration-based issue point: the 1843 three-volume Colburn edition contains only a Maclise-designed frontispiece and two further steel engravings by George Cruikshank, whereas a single-volume edition issued by Colburn the same year (in eleven monthly parts) carries the full illustration program by Tony Johannot, Cruikshank, and Delamotte -- so a three-volume set with only three plates is consistent with the true triple-decker first edition, not a defective copy

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. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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?

Serialized in Ainsworth's Magazine (July 1842-June 1843) ahead of any book publication. The three-volume Colburn edition and the single-volume Colburn edition issued in eleven monthly parts (1843-44) are two distinct, concurrently marketed book issues rather than sequential editions and carry different illustration programs, so neither should be read as a later or defective copy of the other.P-034739

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The single-volume Colburn edition, issued concurrently in eleven monthly parts during 1843-44 with a much fuller illustration program (Johannot, Cruikshank, and Delamotte), is a separate issue from the three-volume first edition and should not be mistaken for it or treated as superseding it.P-034740

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Windsor Castle: An Historical Romance a first edition?

A first edition of Windsor Castle: An Historical Romance by William Harrison Ainsworth (Henry Colburn) is identified by: First edition in book form, three volumes octavo, published by Henry Colburn in 1843 following serialization in Ainsworth's Magazine (July 1842-June 1843).

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. Serialized in Ainsworth's Magazine (July 1842-June 1843) ahead of any book publication.

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

The single-volume Colburn edition, issued concurrently in eleven monthly parts during 1843-44 with a much fuller illustration program (Johannot, Cruikshank, and Delamotte), is a separate issue from the three-volume first edition and should not be mistaken for it or treated as superseding it.

I have a first edition of Windsor Castle: An Historical Romance — 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.