Is My Copy of A Pair of Blue Eyes a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition in book form in three small-octavo volumes, London: Tinsley Brothers, 1873, from a small print run of approximately 500 copies, issued in publisher's green cloth
• Collation runs [6], 303, [1 blank]; [6], 311, [1 blank]; [6], 262 pp., and a complete copy retains the half-titles in all three volumes; volume III normally ends with a 16-page Tinsley Brothers catalogue dated March 1873, which is frequently lacking
• Dealers also cite a first-state typographic point, a mis-aligned 'c' in 'clouds' at volume II page 5
• Original cloth is very scarce and the book is frequently found rebound

How Tinsley Brothers marked a first edition

• No edition statement: a first is identified by the title-page date with no later-printing wording, complete in the correct number of volumes (usually three), with half-titles present.
• Inserted publisher's advertisement catalogue (often at the rear): dated ads not listing later titles support a first printing; Tinsley reused ad gatherings, so dating them is essential.

Full Tinsley Brothers first-edition guide →

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 Tinsley Brothers three-decker is the true first and is the first of Hardy's novels to carry his name on the title page — his earlier Desperate Remedies (1871) and Under the Greenwood Tree (1872) had appeared anonymously. It follows serialization in Tinsleys' Magazine (September 1872-July 1873). An American edition (Henry Holt, Leisure Hour Series) also appeared in 1873 but is later; the London edition is the true first.P-045144

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Michael Sadleir ranked it No. I in his 'Comparative Scarcities,' i.e. Hardy's scarcest first edition. No book-club issue is at stake for the 1873 first; watch for later Osgood/McIlvaine and Macmillan Wessex-format reprints, which are 'first thus,' not the true first.P-045145

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of A Pair of Blue Eyes a first edition?

A first edition of A Pair of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy (Tinsley Brothers) is identified by: First edition in book form in three small-octavo volumes, London: Tinsley Brothers, 1873, from a small print run of approximately 500 copies, issued in publisher's green cloth.

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 Tinsley Brothers three-decker is the true first and is the first of Hardy's novels to carry his name on the title page — his earlier Desperate Remedies (1871) and Under the Greenwood Tree (1872) had appeared anonymously.

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

Michael Sadleir ranked it No. I in his 'Comparative Scarcities,' i.e. Hardy's scarcest first edition. No book-club issue is at stake for the 1873 first; watch for later Osgood/McIlvaine and Macmillan Wessex-format reprints, which are 'first thus,' not the true first.

I have a first edition of A Pair of Blue Eyes — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.