# Is "Adventures in Mexico and the Rocky Mountains" by George Frederick Ruxton a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Adventures in Mexico and the Rocky Mountains by George Frederick Ruxton (John Murray, 1847) is identified by: London: John Murray, 1847, 12mo, collating viii, 332 pages plus 16 pages of publisher's advertisements, with a preface, bound in the publisher's original red cloth with a gilt-stamped spine title. The London Murray edition of 1847 is the unqualified first; Harper & Brothers' New York edition did not appear until 1848 -- a year later, not simultaneously -- so it follows rather than competes with the Murray printing.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- London: John Murray, 1847, 12mo, collating viii, 332 pages plus 16 pages of publisher's advertisements, with a preface, bound in the publisher's original red cloth with a gilt-stamped spine title
- This is the first book publication of Ruxton's account of his 1846-47 travels through Chihuahua, El Paso, and up into New Mexico and southern Colorado among trappers and traders -- material Ruxton had not yet reworked into the more fictionalized "Life in the Far West," which followed serially in Blackwood's Magazine the next year
- With no competing simultaneous American issue, collation of the sixteen ad leaves and the red gilt-spined cloth are the main points to check
- Publisher imprint reads John Murray
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | George Frederick Ruxton |
| Publisher | John Murray |
| Year | 1847 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | London: John Murray, 1847, 12mo, collating viii, 332 pages plus 16 pages of publisher's advertisements, with a preface, bound in the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
London: John Murray, 1847, 12mo, collating viii, 332 pages plus 16 pages of publisher's advertisements, with a preface, bound in the publisher's original red cloth with a gilt-stamped spine title. This is the first book publication of Ruxton's account of his 1846-47 travels through Chihuahua, El Paso, and up into New Mexico and southern Colorado among trappers and traders -- material Ruxton had not yet reworked into the more fictionalized "Life in the Far West," which followed serially in Blackwood's Magazine the next year. With no competing simultaneous American issue, collation of the sixteen ad leaves and the red gilt-spined cloth are the main points to check.

## Is this the true first?
The London Murray edition of 1847 is the unqualified first; Harper & Brothers' New York edition did not appear until 1848 -- a year later, not simultaneously -- so it follows rather than competes with the Murray printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Adventures in Mexico and the Rocky Mountains* by George Frederick Ruxton a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/adventures-in-mexico-and-the-rocky-mountains
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.