# Is "Allan Quatermain" by H. Rider Haggard a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Allan Quatermain by H. Rider Haggard (Longmans, Green, and Co., 1887) is identified by: Published by Longmans, Green, and Co., London, on 1 July 1887, as a first trade printing of about 20,000 copies alongside a separate issue of 112 numbered large-paper copies. The 112 numbered large-paper copies form a separate, distinct issue printed alongside the ordinary trade first edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Published by Longmans, Green, and Co., London, on 1 July 1887, as a first trade printing of about 20,000 copies alongside a separate issue of 112 numbered large-paper copies
- The ordinary first edition is bound in dark blue cloth, gilt-stamped on spine and cover with a decorative axe device, beveled boards, and floral endpapers
- First-issue text carries 'Dongo' for 'Donyo' on page 17 and a misspelling, 'Quartermain,' on the folding map at page 78, and lacks a footnote to the portrait frontispiece that later printings add; it is illustrated with plates by Charles Kerr, engraved by J. Cooper
- Publisher imprint reads Longmans, Green, and Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | H. Rider Haggard |
| Publisher | Longmans, Green, and Co. |
| Year | 1887 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Published by Longmans, Green, and Co., London, on 1 July 1887, as a first trade printing of about 20,000 copies alongside a separate issue… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Published by Longmans, Green, and Co., London, on 1 July 1887, as a first trade printing of about 20,000 copies alongside a separate issue of 112 numbered large-paper copies. The ordinary first edition is bound in dark blue cloth, gilt-stamped on spine and cover with a decorative axe device, beveled boards, and floral endpapers. First-issue text carries 'Dongo' for 'Donyo' on page 17 and a misspelling, 'Quartermain,' on the folding map at page 78, and lacks a footnote to the portrait frontispiece that later printings add; it is illustrated with plates by Charles Kerr, engraved by J. Cooper.

## Is this the true first?
The 112 numbered large-paper copies form a separate, distinct issue printed alongside the ordinary trade first edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Longmans 'new impression' printings correct the page-17 and map misprints and add the missing frontispiece footnote; cheap twentieth-century reprint-house bindings lack the axe-device gilt stamping entirely.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Allan Quatermain* by H. Rider Haggard a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/allan-quatermain
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.