# Is "A History of New York (Knickerbocker's History)" by Washington Irving (as 'Diedrich Knickerbocker') a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A History of New York (Knickerbocker's History) by Washington Irving (as 'Diedrich Knickerbocker') (Inskeep & Bradford, 1809) is identified by: First edition, two volumes, 12mo, dated 1809, published in New York by Inskeep & Bradford (the imprint also names associated firms including Bradford & Inskeep and other agents). US true first, 1809, Irving's first major book, two volumes.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, two volumes, 12mo, dated 1809, published in New York by Inskeep & Bradford (the imprint also names associated firms including Bradford & Inskeep and other agents)
- Issued December 1809 in original boards with paper labels
- A key physical point is the folding panorama plate of New Amsterdam following the preface in Volume I; a complete genuine first should retain this plate
- Collation runs roughly xxiii, 268
- 258 pages across the two volumes
- The pseudonymous Diedrich Knickerbocker attribution appears on the title pages
- Publisher imprint reads Inskeep & Bradford

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Washington Irving (as 'Diedrich Knickerbocker') |
| Publisher | Inskeep & Bradford |
| Year | 1809 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, two volumes, 12mo, dated 1809, published in New York by Inskeep & Bradford (the imprint also names associated firms… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, two volumes, 12mo, dated 1809, published in New York by Inskeep & Bradford (the imprint also names associated firms including Bradford & Inskeep and other agents). Issued December 1809 in original boards with paper labels. A key physical point is the folding panorama plate of New Amsterdam following the preface in Volume I; a complete genuine first should retain this plate. Collation runs roughly xxiii, 268; 258 pages across the two volumes. The pseudonymous Diedrich Knickerbocker attribution appears on the title pages.

## Is this the true first?
US true first, 1809, Irving's first major book, two volumes. The famous Knickerbocker promotional hoax was a series of newspaper notices and advertisements placed before publication to drum up interest in the 'missing' Diedrich Knickerbocker; it was a pre-publication press campaign, not text bound into the book's preliminaries.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Irving substantially revised the text in 1812 and again in 1848; the genuine first is the unrevised 1809 two-volume issue, ideally with the folding New Amsterdam panorama plate present.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A History of New York (Knickerbocker's History)* by Washington Irving (as 'Diedrich Knickerbocker') a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-history-of-new-york-knickerbockers-history
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.