Is My Astoria a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Published almost simultaneously in October 1836: Richard Bentley's London edition in three volumes, titled "Astoria; or, Enterprise Beyond the Rocky Mountains," and Carey, Lea & Blanchard's Philadelphia edition in two volumes (285 and 279 pages, plus an 8-page publisher's catalogue bound in at the rear of volume two), titled "Astoria, or Anecdotes of an Enterprise Beyond the Rocky Mountains." The near-simultaneous transatlantic timing was deliberate, meant to secure copyright in both Britain and the United States in the absence of any international copyright treaty
• First-issue sheets of the Philadelphia edition carry the printer's imprint "Henry W. Rees, Stereotyper" on the verso of the volume-one title leaf and an uncorrected, garbled footnote on page 239 of volume two, with the terminal advertisements left unboxed; both volumes were originally bound in floral-patterned blue cloth with the spine panels stamped in gilt, and volume two includes a folding map of the routes of the Hunt and Stuart overland parties
• Irving compiled the account chiefly from the papers of John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company on the founding of the Astoria trading post on the Columbia River, making it an important secondary narrative of the Pacific Northwest fur trade built from primary participant records

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
3. Verify this is the American true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
5. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

The two editions were closely coordinated to appear within the same month of one another and neither has settled, unambiguous priority in standard bibliographies; American collectors generally treat the two-volume Philadelphia Carey, Lea & Blanchard printing as the American first edition, distinct from Bentley's three-volume London printing.P-035600

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

G. P. Putnam later issued Irving's own single-volume "Author's Revised Edition" of Astoria, condensing the original multi-volume text with authorial revisions; a one-volume Putnam printing under this title is a later revised edition, not the 1836 first, which appeared in two volumes (Philadelphia) or three (London).P-035601

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Astoria a first edition?

A first edition of Astoria by Washington Irving (Carey, Lea & Blanchard) is identified by: Published almost simultaneously in October 1836: Richard Bentley's London edition in three volumes, titled "Astoria; or, Enterprise Beyond the Rocky Mountains," and Carey, Lea & Blanchard's Philadelphia edition in two volumes (285 and 279 pages, plus an 8-page publisher's catalogue bound in at the rear of volume two), titled "Astoria, or Anecdotes of an Enterprise Beyond the Rocky Mountains." The near-simultaneous transatlantic timing was deliberate, meant to secure copyright in both Britain and the…

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. The two editions were closely coordinated to appear within the same month of one another and neither has settled, unambiguous priority in standard bibliographies; American collectors generally treat the two-volume Philadelphia Carey, Lea & Blanchard printing as the American first edition, distinct from Bentley's three-volume London printing.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

G. P. Putnam later issued Irving's own single-volume "Author's Revised Edition" of Astoria, condensing the original multi-volume text with authorial revisions; a one-volume Putnam printing under this title is a later revised edition, not the 1836 first, which appeared in two volumes (Philadelphia) or three (London).

I have a first edition of Astoria — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.