# Is "In Patagonia" by Bruce Chatwin a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin (Jonathan Cape, 1977) is identified by: First published by Jonathan Cape, London, in 1977; the jacket states 'First published 1977' and the first impression carries no later impression line on the verso. Jonathan Cape (London), 1977, is the true first, and the census claim is correct on precedence; Summit Books (New York) published the first American edition, and both are collected.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First published by Jonathan Cape, London, in 1977; the jacket states 'First published 1977' and the first impression carries no later impression line on the verso
- Octavo, 204 pages, with a map frontispiece and 14 full- and half-page photographs
- The first issue has blue-and-white map endpapers — the point most consistently cited by independent dealers for this title — in publisher's navy blue cloth-effect paper-covered boards with gilt titling to the spine
- The jacket bears a wrap-around photograph of the Moreno glacier and carries the price present at the flap; its colours are fugitive and the spine panel is very commonly faded, so an unfaded jacket is an exceptional survival rather than a separate issue
- Publisher imprint reads Jonathan Cape
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Bruce Chatwin |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
| Year | 1977 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First published by Jonathan Cape, London, in 1977; the jacket states 'First published 1977' and the first impression carries no later… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First published by Jonathan Cape, London, in 1977; the jacket states 'First published 1977' and the first impression carries no later impression line on the verso. Octavo, 204 pages, with a map frontispiece and 14 full- and half-page photographs. The first issue has blue-and-white map endpapers — the point most consistently cited by independent dealers for this title — in publisher's navy blue cloth-effect paper-covered boards with gilt titling to the spine. The jacket bears a wrap-around photograph of the Moreno glacier and carries the price present at the flap; its colours are fugitive and the spine panel is very commonly faded, so an unfaded jacket is an exceptional survival rather than a separate issue.

## Is this the true first?
Jonathan Cape (London), 1977, is the true first, and the census claim is correct on precedence; Summit Books (New York) published the first American edition, and both are collected. The American date is unsettled in the sources consulted — most listings give Summit 1977, with James Cummins Bookseller (ABAA) bracketing it '[1977]', indicating an inferred rather than a printed date, while other listings give 1978 — so the census's 'US Summit 1978' should not be relied on as stated. An advance uncorrected proof of the Cape edition exists in peach wraps printed in black, and is recorded as scarcer than the American proof.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition is documented in the sources consulted. The trap for this title is a later Cape impression retaining the 1977 title-page date, separated by the impression statement on the verso; the map endpapers should be checked alongside it, since dealers treat plain endpapers as a later-issue tell.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *In Patagonia* by Bruce Chatwin a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/in-patagonia
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.