How to identify a first printing
- Numerical identification in parentheses/brackets at the FOOT OF THE LAST PAGE of text: '(1)' = first printing, '(2)' = second, etc.
- May occasionally have used a 'First Edition' statement instead of the foot-of-last-page number.
- Match title-page date with single date on copyright page.
Notable points & cautions
- The point is at the END of the book (last text page), not the copyright page — a frequent miss for those checking only the front matter.
- Became Appleton-Century in 1933 (merger with Century Co.), then Appleton-Century-Crofts — the foot-of-page number convention can persist.
Imprints
First editions also appear under: D. Appleton, Appleton-Century (1933+), Appleton-Century-Crofts. Each generally follows the house convention above.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my D. Appleton & Company book is a first edition?
Check the copyright page. Numerical identification in parentheses/brackets at the FOOT OF THE LAST PAGE of text: '(1)' = first printing, '(2)' = second, etc. May occasionally have used a 'First Edition' statement instead of the foot-of-last-page number.
Does D. Appleton & Company use a number line?
May occasionally have used a 'First Edition' statement instead of the foot-of-last-page number.
Is a book-club edition a D. Appleton & Company first edition?
No. Book-club editions reprint the text but are not the true first edition. The point is at the END of the book (last text page), not the copyright page — a frequent miss for those checking only the front matter.
What era does this cover?
This covers D. Appleton & Company (1830s-1940s). Conventions changed over time, so confirm the era of your copy.
D. Appleton & Company titles with documented first-edition points
Each link opens that title’s specific points of issue — the exact marks that separate a true first printing from a later one.
- Cancel All Our Vows (John D. MacDonald, 1953)
- Many Inventions (Rudyard Kipling, 1893)
- Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman (William Tecumseh Sherman, 1875)
- Personal Narrative of Explorations and Incidents in Texas, New Mexico, California, Sonora, and Chihuahua (John Russell Bartlett, 1854)
- Sitka (Louis L'Amour, 1957)
- Something New (P.G. Wodehouse, 1915)
- The Age of Innocence (Edith Wharton, 1920)
- The Floating Opera (John Barth, 1956)
- The Glimpses of the Moon (Edith Wharton, 1922)
- The Principles and Practice of Medicine (William Osler, 1892)
- Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings (Joel Chandler Harris, 1881)
- Uneasy Money (P.G. Wodehouse, 1916)