# Is "Excursions" by Henry David Thoreau a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Excursions by Henry David Thoreau (Ticknor and Fields, 1863) is identified by: First and only 1863 printing, Boston: Ticknor and Fields, limited to 1,558 copies printed (1,500 bound up), 319pp, bound in green cloth.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First and only 1863 printing, Boston: Ticknor and Fields, limited to 1,558 copies printed (1,500 bound up), 319pp, bound in green cloth
- Carries a steel-engraved frontispiece portrait of Thoreau after the Samuel Worcester Rowse crayon sketch, with a tissue guard -- the first published likeness of Thoreau in any book
- Edited posthumously by Thoreau's sister Sophia, with a prefatory "Biographical Sketch" contributed by Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Standard references: Borst A3.1.a
- BAL 5236 and 20111
- Publisher imprint reads Ticknor and Fields
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Henry David Thoreau |
| Publisher | Ticknor and Fields |
| Year | 1863 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First and only 1863 printing, Boston: Ticknor and Fields, limited to 1,558 copies printed (1,500 bound up), 319pp, bound in green cloth |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First and only 1863 printing, Boston: Ticknor and Fields, limited to 1,558 copies printed (1,500 bound up), 319pp, bound in green cloth. Carries a steel-engraved frontispiece portrait of Thoreau after the Samuel Worcester Rowse crayon sketch, with a tissue guard -- the first published likeness of Thoreau in any book. Edited posthumously by Thoreau's sister Sophia, with a prefatory "Biographical Sketch" contributed by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Standard references: Borst A3.1.a; BAL 5236 and 20111.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Excursions* by Henry David Thoreau a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/excursions
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.