Is My Copy of The Federalist a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first in book form is the New York, printed and sold by J. and A. McLean edition, 2 volumes, 1788 — the essays having first appeared in New York newspapers in 1787–88
• Volume I (essays 1–36) was published 22 March 1788 and Volume II (essays 37–85) on 28 May 1788, in an edition of about 500 copies incorporating Hamilton's textual corrections
• Recognized issue points: a paging error in Volume II where page 256 is misnumbered 156
• Volume II is printed on slightly larger paper than Volume I; and a few copies were struck on superfine royal (large) writing paper besides the ordinary paper

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. 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 US 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?

US-only apex Americana; the McLean set is the first collected/book edition — distinct from the newspaper first appearances and preceding the George F. Hopkins edition of 1802 and all later printings. No foreign edition competes for precedence; the early French translation and every subsequent edition are later.P-045558

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The text has been reprinted continuously since 1788; facsimile and law-publisher reprints of the McLean first exist, and the 1802 Hopkins edition ('The Federalist, on the New Constitution,' with added authorship attributions and further Hamilton corrections) is a separate later edition, not the first.P-045559

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Federalist a first edition?

A first edition of The Federalist by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay (J. and A. McLean, New York) is identified by: The true first in book form is the New York, printed and sold by J. and A. McLean edition, 2 volumes, 1788 — the essays having first appeared in New York newspapers in 1787–88.

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. US-only apex Americana; the McLean set is the first collected/book edition — distinct from the newspaper first appearances and preceding the George F. Hopkins edition of 1802 and all later printings.

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

The text has been reprinted continuously since 1788; facsimile and law-publisher reprints of the McLean first exist, and the 1802 Hopkins edition ('The Federalist, on the New Constitution,' with added authorship attributions and further Hamilton corrections) is a separate later edition, not the first.

I have a first edition of The Federalist — 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.