Is My Copy of The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition is TWO volumes only, dated 1890, and critically carries the subtitle "A Study in Comparative Religion" on the title page — the single most reliable first-vs-later tell
• Bound in publisher's green cloth, spines lettered in gilt with a gilt mistletoe design blocked on the upper boards, edges uncut, with a publisher's catalogue (about 4 pp.) bound in at the end
• Confirmed against two independent sources (Burnside Rare Books and Bauman/other dealer descriptions) plus the Macmillan edition history

How Macmillan and Co. marked a first edition

• UK Macmillan (Macmillan & Co. Ltd., London), pre-mid-1920s: first editions carried NO identifying statement — only subsequent printings/reprints were noted. A first is identified by the ABSENCE of any 'Reprinted'…

Full Macmillan and Co. 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 UK 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?

UK first: Macmillan, London, 1890, in two volumes. This is a strong "first thus" trap — the three-volume second edition (1900) changed the subtitle to "A Study in Magic and Religion," the monumental twelve-volume third edition (1906–15) is the completed work and is separately collected, and the ubiquitous one-volume abridgement (1922) is neither. Presence of "Comparative Religion" in the subtitle and only two volumes distinguishes the genuine 1890 first.P-045791

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The one-volume 1922 abridgement (and its many reprints) is the item most often mistaken for the first edition; it is a later, condensed text, not a first-edition reprint. No book-club issue relevant to the two-volume first.P-045792

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion a first edition?

A first edition of The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion by James George Frazer (Macmillan and Co.) is identified by: First edition is TWO volumes only, dated 1890, and critically carries the subtitle "A Study in Comparative Religion" on the title page — the single most reliable first-vs-later tell.

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. UK first: Macmillan, London, 1890, in two volumes.

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

The one-volume 1922 abridgement (and its many reprints) is the item most often mistaken for the first edition; it is a later, condensed text, not a first-edition reprint. No book-club issue relevant to the two-volume first.

I have a first edition of The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion — 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.