# Is "Heat Considered as a Mode of Motion" by John Tyndall a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Heat Considered as a Mode of Motion by John Tyndall (Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, & Green, 1863) is identified by: First edition, subtitled Being a Course of Twelve Lectures Delivered at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in the Season of 1862.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, subtitled Being a Course of Twelve Lectures Delivered at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in the Season of 1862
- Collates [7], x-xix, [1], 468 pages, with a half-title, an engraved folding plate, numerous in-text engravings, and a terminal 32-page publisher's advertisement catalogue
- Bound in original blind-stamped red cloth, lettered in gilt
- Publisher imprint reads Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, & Green
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John Tyndall |
| Publisher | Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, & Green |
| Year | 1863 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, subtitled Being a Course of Twelve Lectures Delivered at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in the Season of 1862 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition, subtitled Being a Course of Twelve Lectures Delivered at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in the Season of 1862. Collates [7], x-xix, [1], 468 pages, with a half-title, an engraved folding plate, numerous in-text engravings, and a terminal 32-page publisher's advertisement catalogue. Bound in original blind-stamped red cloth, lettered in gilt.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Tyndall revised and enlarged the book through several later editions over the following decades; by the third edition (Longmans, 1868, collating xxiii, 520 pages) the title had already been shortened to Heat: A Mode of Motion. A true first edition must read simply '1863' on the title page with no edition statement, and collate [7], x-xix, [1], 468 pages with the 32-page terminal advertisement catalogue.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Heat Considered as a Mode of Motion* by John Tyndall a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/heat-considered-as-a-mode-of-motion
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.