Is My Journal of Researches into the Geology and Natural History of the Various Countries Visited by H.M.S. Beagle (The Voyage of the Beagle) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Darwin's account first appeared in May 1839 as Volume III ('Journal and Remarks') of the composite four-volume Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of H.M.S. Adventure and Beagle
• Colburn then reissued the same setting of type under Darwin's own title, Journal of Researches, adding a new half-title and title leaf and sixteen pages of Colburn's publisher's advertisements dated August 1839 at the rear
• The sheets are bound in dark blue, blind-stamped cloth prone to fading, with the author's name and Colburn's imprint lettered on the spine, and include two engraved folding maps -- one of the southern portion of South America and one of the Keeling Islands, both signed by the engravers J. Dower and J. & C. Walker -- plus four woodcut illustrations in the text
• This was Darwin's first book

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. 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. 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.
4. 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 composite Narrative, with Darwin's text as Volume III ('Journal and Remarks'), was issued as a set by May 1839; the separately-titled Journal of Researches, with new preliminary leaves and advertisements dated August 1839, reissues the same first-edition sheets under Darwin's own title and is technically the second issue rather than a new edition. A third issue, with the half-title and title leaf reprinted and dated 1840, followed and is the scarcest of the three; all three issues share the same text setting.P-035980

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The heavily revised second edition (John Murray, 1845, issued in three parts as volume 12 of the Colonial and Home Library) reverses the title's word order to 'Natural History and Geology' rather than the first edition's 'Geology and Natural History,' omits both folding maps (which did not return until 1890), and cuts the text from about 224,000 to roughly 213,000 words; any copy with the reversed title wording or lacking the two folding maps is a later Murray edition, not the 1839 Colburn first.P-035981

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Journal of Researches into the Geology and Natural History of the Various Countries Visited by H.M.S. Beagle (The Voyage of the Beagle) a first edition?

A first edition of Journal of Researches into the Geology and Natural History of the Various Countries Visited by H.M.S. Beagle (The Voyage of the Beagle) by Charles Darwin (Henry Colburn) is identified by: Darwin's account first appeared in May 1839 as Volume III ('Journal and Remarks') of the composite four-volume Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of H.M.S.

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 composite Narrative, with Darwin's text as Volume III ('Journal and Remarks'), was issued as a set by May 1839; the separately-titled Journal of Researches, with new preliminary leaves and advertisements dated August 1839, reissues the same first-edition sheets under Darwin's own title and is technically the second issue rather than a new edition.

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

The heavily revised second edition (John Murray, 1845, issued in three parts as volume 12 of the Colonial and Home Library) reverses the title's word order to 'Natural History and Geology' rather than the first edition's 'Geology and Natural History,' omits both folding maps (which did not return until 1890), and cuts the text from about 224,000 to roughly 213,000 words; any copy with the reversed title wording or lacking the two folding maps is a later Murray edition, not the 1839 Colburn first

I have a first edition of Journal of Researches into the Geology and Natural History of the Various Countries Visited by H.M.S. Beagle (The Voyage of the Beagle) — 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.