# Is "A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States" by Frederick Law Olmsted a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States by Frederick Law Olmsted (Dix and Edwards, 1856) is identified by: The American first edition was published in New York by Dix and Edwards in 1856, collating xv, [1], 723, [1] pages plus four pages of publisher's advertisements, and it is illustrated with in-text engravings. The New York (Dix and Edwards) and London (Sampson Low) printings both appeared in 1856; American reference bibliographies (Howes O-78, Sabin 57242) treat the Dix and Edwards issue as the primary edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The American first edition was published in New York by Dix and Edwards in 1856, collating xv, [1], 723, [1] pages plus four pages of publisher's advertisements, and it is illustrated with in-text engravings
- It is bound in the publisher's brown ribbed cloth, decorated in blind, with the title lettered in gilt on the spine
- A simultaneous London edition was issued by Sampson Low, Son & Co
- Publisher imprint reads Dix and Edwards
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Frederick Law Olmsted |
| Publisher | Dix and Edwards |
| Year | 1856 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The American first edition was published in New York by Dix and Edwards in 1856, collating xv, [1], 723, [1] pages plus four pages of… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The American first edition was published in New York by Dix and Edwards in 1856, collating xv, [1], 723, [1] pages plus four pages of publisher's advertisements, and it is illustrated with in-text engravings. It is bound in the publisher's brown ribbed cloth, decorated in blind, with the title lettered in gilt on the spine. A simultaneous London edition was issued by Sampson Low, Son & Co.

## Is this the true first?
The New York (Dix and Edwards) and London (Sampson Low) printings both appeared in 1856; American reference bibliographies (Howes O-78, Sabin 57242) treat the Dix and Edwards issue as the primary edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Olmsted's dispatches were later condensed together with his two companion Southern travel volumes into the single work The Cotton Kingdom (1861); that later compilation is a different, abridged text, not a reprint of this first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States* by Frederick Law Olmsted a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-journey-in-the-seaboard-slave-states
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.