# Is "Down the Santa Fe Trail and Into Mexico" by Susan Shelby Magoffin (edited by Stella M. Drumm) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Down the Santa Fe Trail and Into Mexico by Susan Shelby Magoffin (edited by Stella M. Drumm) (Yale University Press, 1926) is identified by: Yale University Press, New Haven, 1926, edited and annotated by Stella M. The diary was kept in 1846-47 but remained unpublished until Drumm, a librarian at the Missouri Historical Society, located it in the 1920s and persuaded Magoffin's daughter to release it.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Yale University Press, New Haven, 1926, edited and annotated by Stella M. Drumm — the best-documented title in this batch, corroborated by four ABAA-member dealer descriptions (William Reese Company, Lorne Bair Rare Books, Old West Books, and ABAA's own listing database) plus Buckingham Books
- No edition statement is printed in the book: dealers describe it as "not stated, presumed first," and the 1926 Yale issue is identified by the title-page imprint and date
- Octavo (24 cm), collating [xxvi], 294 pp, bound in black cloth stamped in gilt
- Contains a frontispiece, six plates, appendix, bibliography and index, and — the point most often lacking and the one to check first — a FOLDING MAP; confirm the folding map is present and intact, as its absence is the commonest defect
- Recorded in the standard Western Americana bibliographies: Howes M-211, Rittenhouse 392, Rader 2331, Eberstadt Modern Overland 318
- Copies are occasionally found in the original dust jacket, which is scarce
- Publisher imprint reads Yale University Press

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Susan Shelby Magoffin (edited by Stella M. Drumm) |
| Publisher | Yale University Press |
| Year | 1926 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Yale University Press, New Haven, 1926, edited and annotated by Stella M. Drumm — the best-documented title in this batch, corroborated by… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Yale University Press, New Haven, 1926, edited and annotated by Stella M. Drumm — the best-documented title in this batch, corroborated by four ABAA-member dealer descriptions (William Reese Company, Lorne Bair Rare Books, Old West Books, and ABAA's own listing database) plus Buckingham Books. No edition statement is printed in the book: dealers describe it as "not stated, presumed first," and the 1926 Yale issue is identified by the title-page imprint and date. Octavo (24 cm), collating [xxvi], 294 pp, bound in black cloth stamped in gilt. Contains a frontispiece, six plates, appendix, bibliography and index, and — the point most often lacking and the one to check first — a FOLDING MAP; confirm the folding map is present and intact, as its absence is the commonest defect. Recorded in the standard Western Americana bibliographies: Howes M-211, Rittenhouse 392, Rader 2331, Eberstadt Modern Overland 318. Copies are occasionally found in the original dust jacket, which is scarce.

## Is this the true first?
The diary was kept in 1846-47 but remained unpublished until Drumm, a librarian at the Missouri Historical Society, located it in the 1920s and persuaded Magoffin's daughter to release it. Yale University Press, New Haven, 1926 is therefore the FIRST PUBLICATION and the only edition with first-edition standing — the census claim is correct. US-only; no UK issue and no original-language question. Contemporary corroboration: the edition was reviewed in the Hispanic American Historical Review vol. 8 (1928).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition documented. The "first thus" traps are all later reissues that add editorial matter: the Yale Western Americana Paperbound reissue (series number Yw-3) with a new introduction by Howard R. Lamar; the Bison Books / University of Nebraska Press paperback (ISBN 9780803281161); and the Yale reissue of 2003 (ISBN 9780300094671). Any ISBN, any series designation, wrappers, or the presence of the Lamar introduction identifies a later book rather than the 1926 first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Down the Santa Fe Trail and Into Mexico* by Susan Shelby Magoffin (edited by Stella M. Drumm) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/down-the-santa-fe-trail-and-into-mexico
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.