# Is "Wolfert's Roost and Other Papers, Now First Collected" by Washington Irving a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Wolfert's Roost and Other Papers, Now First Collected by Washington Irving (G. P. Putnam & Co., 1855) is identified by: First edition, published by G.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, published by G. P. Putnam & Co., 12 Park Place, New York, in 1855, collating [5-7] 8 [9] 10-383, [384: blank] pages, with an inserted frontispiece and a separate vignette title leaf pasted to the stub of an excised leaf -- the key first-issue point, since later states have this pasted-leaf construction altered
- A twelve-page publisher's catalogue dated 'Feb'y., 1855' is bound in at the rear
- BAL records at least six variant issues distinguished chiefly by the publisher's street address given (12 Park Place vs. a later 10 Park Place) and by the exact dating of the rear advertisement leaves
- Original pictorial slate-green cloth, panels stamped in gold and blind, with yellow endpapers, is the priority binding
- Publisher imprint reads G. P. Putnam & Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Washington Irving |
| Publisher | G. P. Putnam & Co. |
| Year | 1855 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, published by G. P. Putnam & Co., 12 Park Place, New York, in 1855, collating [5-7] 8 [9] 10-383, [384: blank] pages, with an… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, published by G. P. Putnam & Co., 12 Park Place, New York, in 1855, collating [5-7] 8 [9] 10-383, [384: blank] pages, with an inserted frontispiece and a separate vignette title leaf pasted to the stub of an excised leaf -- the key first-issue point, since later states have this pasted-leaf construction altered. A twelve-page publisher's catalogue dated 'Feb'y., 1855' is bound in at the rear; BAL records at least six variant issues distinguished chiefly by the publisher's street address given (12 Park Place vs. a later 10 Park Place) and by the exact dating of the rear advertisement leaves. Original pictorial slate-green cloth, panels stamped in gold and blind, with yellow endpapers, is the priority binding.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Putnam and G. P. Putnam's Sons reprintings, and inclusion in collected 'Works of Washington Irving' sets, reset the text with series title pages and uniform cloth, omitting the pasted vignette-title-leaf construction and the dated 1855 ad catalogue.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Wolfert's Roost and Other Papers, Now First Collected* by Washington Irving a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/wolferts-roost-and-other-papers-now-first-collected
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.