# Is "A Tour on the Prairies" by Washington Irving a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Tour on the Prairies by Washington Irving (John Murray, 1835) is identified by: First published by John Murray, London, in 1835 (collation xiii, [1], 335 pp., 12mo, signed A6[-A1] a1 B-P12), preceding the Philadelphia Carey, Lea & Blanchard edition (BAL 10140) by about a month. The London John Murray edition of 1835 precedes the American Carey, Lea & Blanchard edition; some older bibliographies (Sabin) record only a later London printing, so the true first must be checked against BAL's setting/state designations rather than assumed from a Sabin citation alone.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First published by John Murray, London, in 1835 (collation xiii, [1], 335 pp., 12mo, signed A6[-A1] a1 B-P12), preceding the Philadelphia Carey, Lea & Blanchard edition (BAL 10140) by about a month
- Title page reads 'By the Author of "The Sketch-Book."' BAL records the London sheets in a first-issue, second-state variant (BAL 10139, setting B) -- the point collectors check copies against, since later Murray printings exist
- The work is the first of Irving's three 'Western' travel narratives (with Astoria and The Adventures of Captain Bonneville)
- Publisher imprint reads John Murray
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Washington Irving |
| Publisher | John Murray |
| Year | 1835 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First published by John Murray, London, in 1835 (collation xiii, [1], 335 pp., 12mo, signed A6[-A1] a1 B-P12), preceding the Philadelphia… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First published by John Murray, London, in 1835 (collation xiii, [1], 335 pp., 12mo, signed A6[-A1] a1 B-P12), preceding the Philadelphia Carey, Lea & Blanchard edition (BAL 10140) by about a month. Title page reads 'By the Author of "The Sketch-Book."' BAL records the London sheets in a first-issue, second-state variant (BAL 10139, setting B) -- the point collectors check copies against, since later Murray printings exist. The work is the first of Irving's three 'Western' travel narratives (with Astoria and The Adventures of Captain Bonneville).

## Is this the true first?
The London John Murray edition of 1835 precedes the American Carey, Lea & Blanchard edition; some older bibliographies (Sabin) record only a later London printing, so the true first must be checked against BAL's setting/state designations rather than assumed from a Sabin citation alone.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later American reprints, including 20th-century university-press editions (e.g., University of Oklahoma Press), are modern scholarly reprints clearly identified as such and not first editions.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Tour on the Prairies* by Washington Irving a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-tour-on-the-prairies
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.