Is My Woman in the Nineteenth Century a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition: New York, Greeley & McElrath, 1845, issued in February 1845 as part of Horace Greeley's "Cheerful Books for the People" series
• Collation per library catalog records is vi, [5]-201, [1] pp
• The single most useful identification point is the author form on the title page: the 1845 first reads "By S. Margaret Fuller" — Fuller was unmarried and still signing as Sarah Margaret Fuller
• Any title page naming the author "Margaret Fuller Ossoli" is a later, posthumous edition, not this one
• There is no edition or printing statement to rely on; identification rests on the Greeley & McElrath imprint, the 1845 date, the "S. Margaret Fuller" author form, and the 201-page collation
• The book was a cheap-format popular title and copies are recorded both in publisher's cloth and in printed wrappers, the wrappered state being the scarcer; the first printing is reported to have sold out within about a week, which is why later 1840s-the printed price reprints are comparatively common

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. Verify this is the American true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. 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.
6. 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 American edition is the true first and the census claim is confirmed. Greeley & McElrath, New York, February 1845 precedes the first English edition, published in London by H. G. Clarke & Co. in the same year — Clarke's London issue followed the New York book and is collected as the first English edition, not as the first. Fuller wrote in English, so there is no original-language precedence question. The text itself is an expansion (by roughly a third) of her essay "The Great Lawsuit. Man versus Men. Woman versus Women" in The Dial (Boston, July 1843); the Dial appearance is the first printing of the earlier, shorter text, not of this book.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The major first-thus trap is the 1855 Boston edition from John P. Jewett — the first expanded and first posthumous edition, edited by Fuller's brother Arthur B. Fuller with material assembled by Horace Greeley, adding essays and extracts from Fuller's journals and letters, and issued in blind-stamped brown cloth. It is routinely offered as a "first edition" because it is the first appearance of the enlarged text, but it is a reprint-plus of the 1845 book and carries the "Ossoli" author form. Later Greenwood Press, Norton Critical, Dover Thrift and similar reissues are modern reprints. No book-club issue exists for a title of this date.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Woman in the Nineteenth Century a first edition?

A first edition of Woman in the Nineteenth Century by Margaret Fuller (Greeley & McElrath, New York) is identified by: First edition: New York, Greeley & McElrath, 1845, issued in February 1845 as part of Horace Greeley's "Cheerful Books for the People" series.

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 American edition is the true first and the census claim is confirmed.

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

The major first-thus trap is the 1855 Boston edition from John P. Jewett — the first expanded and first posthumous edition, edited by Fuller's brother Arthur B. Fuller with material assembled by Horace Greeley, adding essays and extracts from Fuller's journals and letters, and issued in blind-stamped brown cloth. It is routinely offered as a "first edition" because it is the first appearance of the enlarged text, but it is a reprint-plus of the 1845 book and carries the "Ossoli" author form. Lat

I have a first edition of Woman in the Nineteenth Century — 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.