Is My Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The American first edition collates 712 pages, bound in blue cloth with gilt spine titling and decoration and an inset color decoration of an elephant on the front board; it carries a photographic frontispiece of Twain and numerous in-text and full-page illustrations by eleven artists and photographers
• BAL 3451 notes a collector preference for copies with a single Hartford imprint on the title page, but because the title-leaf was printed and inserted separately from the rest of the book, it cautions that the different imprint states may reflect simultaneous rather than sequential publication; the signature mark '11' on page 161, though present in most copies and often cited by dealers, is likewise not a confirmed priority point
• The British edition, issued by Chatto & Windus the same year under the different title More Tramps Abroad in maroon cloth with a publisher's catalogue dated September 1897, carries only four illustrations against the American edition's roughly 193, and omits about 6,000 words present in the American text

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. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. 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.
4. Verify this is the American true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. 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.
6. 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 Hartford, American Publishing Company edition titled Following the Equator is the edition collected under that title. The Chatto & Windus London edition, issued the same year under the different title More Tramps Abroad, is a textually distinct edition rather than a straightforward reprint, and its exact priority relative to the American edition is not firmly established in the record.P-036084

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World a first edition?

A first edition of Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World by Mark Twain (American Publishing Company) is identified by: The American first edition collates 712 pages, bound in blue cloth with gilt spine titling and decoration and an inset color decoration of an elephant on the front board; it carries a photographic frontispiece of Twain and numerous in-text and full-page illustrations by eleven artists and photographers.

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 Hartford, American Publishing Company edition titled Following the Equator is the edition collected under that title.

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

No. Book-club editions reprint the text but are not the true first; look for a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price.

I have a first edition of Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World — 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.