Is My In Darkest Africa a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first (British) edition is a two-volume thick octavo set collating xv, 529; xi, 472, [2] pages, bound in original red pictorial cloth (the front board decorated with a jungle scene depicting Stanley and a native) with gilt-lettered spines, map endpapers, thirty-eight full-page plates, three folding maps (two in color), and a folding sketch profile
• Sampson Low of London and Charles Scribner's Sons of New York each also issued their own signed, large-paper quarto 'edition de luxe' limited to 250 numbered copies and bound in dark brown morocco over vellum, containing six additional full-page etchings signed by the artist that are not present in the ordinary octavo trade edition
• The Scribner's deluxe issue was printed from the same setting of type as the English sheets

How Sampson Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington marked a first edition

• No printed edition statement on 19th-century firsts: use title-page date plus absence of any later-printing notice, and read the exact partnership style in the imprint (the firm's name changed repeatedly, which helps dat…
• Dated inserted advertisements or catalogue, usually at the rear; a first should not advertise later books.

Full Sampson Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. 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.
3. Verify this is the American true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. 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.
5. 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 London Sampson Low octavo edition of 1890 is the true first (trade) edition; Sampson Low and Scribner's each also issued a parallel signed 250-copy large-paper deluxe edition that same year, and the Scribner's American deluxe issue used sheets printed from the same setting as the English edition.P-036076

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of In Darkest Africa a first edition?

A first edition of In Darkest Africa by Henry M. Stanley (Sampson Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington) is identified by: The true first (British) edition is a two-volume thick octavo set collating xv, 529; xi, 472, [2] pages, bound in original red pictorial cloth (the front board decorated with a jungle scene depicting Stanley and a native) with gilt-lettered spines, map endpapers, thirty-eight full-page plates, three folding maps (two in color), and a folding sketch profile.

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 London Sampson Low octavo edition of 1890 is the true first (trade) edition; Sampson Low and Scribner's each also issued a parallel signed 250-copy large-paper deluxe edition that same year, and the Scribner's American deluxe issue used sheets printed from the same setting as the English edition.

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 In Darkest Africa — 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.