Tom Brown Series - Ticknor and Fields

Ticknor and Fields (1857-1869)

Boston.

Ticknor and Fields was the first American publisher of Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby.

During the 1850's only Ticknor and Fields published copies of Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby by an Old Boy. Ten numbered editions have been reported. The first 7 editions were published in 1857 and 1858 while editions 8-10 were published in 1859.

In 1857 the first five English editions from MacMillan and Co. of the School Days were published. In 1858 the sixth English version was published. This book had the first appearance of the "preface". Virtually every reprint of School Days from this point on includes this preface. This accounts for the frequent claim that a reprint is "the sixth edition".

Here are details of the early Ticknor and Fields' copies

1857 May - (409 pages) 2500 copies
1858 Feb- (405 pages) 500 copies-second edition
1858 Feb-500 copies - 3rd edition
1858 June-519 copies - 4th edition
1858 5th edition-not mentioned in cost book but it is in an ad.
1858 Aug 500 copies-6th edition
1858 Sept-1000 7th edition
1859 8th edition- January 1859
1859 9th edition- Unknown date
1859 10th edition- Unknown date

By 1863 Ticknor and Fields had published twenty editions not including an illustrated edition in 1860 with ten designs by Larkin G. Mead Jr. This latter book is slightly larger (8 x 5.5) than the regular editions (7.5 x 5).

Ticknor and Fields continued to publish non numbered editions until 1869.

Tom Brown at Oxford was first published in seventeen monthly serialized parts between 1859 and 1861. These parts were published by Ticknor and Fields with the permission of Hughes' English publisher MacMillan.

It would seem that each part should be relatively easy to obtain based on the number published. Since they were in wraps however, their fragility has reduced the number that have survived.

Here are the publication numbers:
Parts I-II - 2000 copies each
Parts III, IV, VI-XIII- 1500 copies
Parts V, XIV, XV -1000 copies
Parts XVI, XVII - 750 copies

Pictured here are four of the 17 parts (Nos. II, III, VII, and IX). Although there are no insert ads like the typical parts seen in Dickens' works, there are ads on the back covers and after the text (in Part III) The booklets are small (7.25 x 4.5).

Ticknor and Fields first published the 2 volume set of Tom Brown at Oxford on November 24, 1860 (Volume 1) and July 16, 1861 (Volume 2). Both books however had 1861 on the title page. The earliest known back ads in Volume 1 are dated October, 1860.

(See the Harper and Brothers' section for information about the "other" American first edition of Tom Brown at Oxford.)