# Is "Catriona" by Robert Louis Stevenson a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Catriona by Robert Louis Stevenson (Cassell & Co., 1893) is identified by: First published by Cassell & Co. The American edition, titled David Balfour, was published by Charles Scribner's Sons in 1893 as a separately titled issue with its own textual variants; Cassell's Catriona is the standard first edition under the book's usual title.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First published by Cassell & Co. in 1893, after serialization in Atalanta (December 1892-September 1893)
- The first edition is octavo, ix + 371 pages, with publisher's advertisements dated 8.93 (August 1893), an important issue point since later printings carry differently dated ad leaves
- The binding is dark blue cloth with gilt titling on the spine, flower-and-leaf patterned endpapers, and untrimmed edges
- Publisher imprint reads Cassell & Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert Louis Stevenson |
| Publisher | Cassell & Co. |
| Year | 1893 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First published by Cassell & Co. in 1893, after serialization in Atalanta (December 1892-September 1893) |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First published by Cassell & Co. in 1893, after serialization in Atalanta (December 1892-September 1893). The first edition is octavo, ix + 371 pages, with publisher's advertisements dated 8.93 (August 1893), an important issue point since later printings carry differently dated ad leaves. The binding is dark blue cloth with gilt titling on the spine, flower-and-leaf patterned endpapers, and untrimmed edges.

## Is this the true first?
The American edition, titled David Balfour, was published by Charles Scribner's Sons in 1893 as a separately titled issue with its own textual variants; Cassell's Catriona is the standard first edition under the book's usual title.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Catriona* by Robert Louis Stevenson a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/catriona
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.