Is My Wives and Daughters a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first in book form: Smith, Elder & Co., London, 1866, in two volumes, large octavo, with eighteen wood-engraved plates by George du Maurier (ten in Vol
• I, eight in Vol
• Sadleir 936, Wolff 2428
• Original binding is publisher's burgundy/maroon cloth, gilt; collation Vol
• I [iv], 336 pp and Vol
• II [iv], 332 pp

How Smith, Elder & Co. marked a first edition

• Original publisher's cloth binding (blind- and gilt-stamped), correct half-titles present, and an uncut or unopened text block support a first-issue state.

Full Smith, Elder & Co. 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. Verify this is the American true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
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?

The London Smith, Elder two-volume issue of 1866 is the true first; a first American edition followed the same year from Harper & Brothers, New York (1866), a separate later-in-year setting, so London holds precedence. The novel was serialised in the Cornhill Magazine, August 1864–January 1866.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The Harper (New York) 1866 issue is the American first, not a reprint of the London sheets; later reprints and one-volume/collected settings are 'first thus,' not the 1866 two-volume first.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Wives and Daughters a first edition?

A first edition of Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell (Smith, Elder & Co.) is identified by: True first in book form: Smith, Elder & Co., London, 1866, in two volumes, large octavo, with eighteen wood-engraved plates by George du Maurier (ten in Vol.

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 London Smith, Elder two-volume issue of 1866 is the true first; a first American edition followed the same year from Harper & Brothers, New York (1866), a separate later-in-year setting, so London holds precedence.

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

The Harper (New York) 1866 issue is the American first, not a reprint of the London sheets; later reprints and one-volume/collected settings are 'first thus,' not the 1866 two-volume first.

I have a first edition of Wives and Daughters — 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.