Is My Kon-Tiki (Kon-Tiki ekspedisjonen) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first is the Norwegian "Kon-Tiki ekspedisjonen," Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, Oslo, published 2 November 1948 and issued in hardcover
• The first Norwegian printing sold out in roughly a fortnight, so reprints followed immediately and the Gyldendal imprint year by itself is not sufficient to establish a first
• For the first English-language editions, both 1950 issues are collected and both use F. H. Lyon's translation
• George Allen & Unwin (London), "The Kon-Tiki Expedition: By Raft Across the South Seas": 8vo, roughly 235-236 pages with black-and-white photographic plates, bound in brown cloth with gilt spine lettering and a blind-stamped Polynesian mask on the front board; a first impression carries only the original "first published 1950" statement on the verso with no added later-impression line, and the jacket should be priced at the flap and unclipped
• Rand McNally (Chicago / New York), "Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific by Raft": dealer consensus is that a capital "A" beneath the copyright date on the copyright page marks the first printing; bound in blue cloth with gilt spine lettering and a blind-stamped Polynesian mask on the front board, with cartographic (map) endpapers and uncut edges, and the first-issue jacket priced at the front flap

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 original-language Norwegian edition (Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, Oslo, 1948) has clear precedence; both English editions are 1950 translations by F. H. Lyon and neither is the true first of the work. Both English editions are collected and both are dated 1950: the London Allen & Unwin issue and the Chicago/New York Rand McNally issue. A contemporary scholarly review in American Antiquity lists the two together without ranking them, and month-level precedence between the London and New York issues could not be established from the sources consulted, so neither is asserted here as "the" first English edition. The titles differ and are a quick shelf test: the UK issue is "The Kon-Tiki Expedition: By Raft Across the South Seas," the US issue is "Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific by Raft."

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Both English editions were 1950 club selections, so club printings circulate in large numbers. The Rand McNally issue was a Book-of-the-Month Club selection; the decisive test is that club printings lack the "A" on the copyright page. Per the general BOMC convention of the period, club copies also carry an unpriced jacket and a small blind-stamped device on the rear board, though those conventions were not documented for this title specifically in the sources consulted, so rely on the absent "A" rather than the board stamp. The Allen & Unwin issue was a Book Society choice in the UK. Later Allen & Unwin impressions state the added impression on the verso; a 1950 title-page date alone does not establish a first.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Kon-Tiki (Kon-Tiki ekspedisjonen) a first edition?

A first edition of Kon-Tiki (Kon-Tiki ekspedisjonen) by Thor Heyerdahl (Gyldendal Norsk Forlag) is identified by: The true first is the Norwegian "Kon-Tiki ekspedisjonen," Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, Oslo, published 2 November 1948 and issued in hardcover.

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 original-language Norwegian edition (Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, Oslo, 1948) has clear precedence; both English editions are 1950 translations by F.

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

Both English editions were 1950 club selections, so club printings circulate in large numbers. The Rand McNally issue was a Book-of-the-Month Club selection; the decisive test is that club printings lack the "A" on the copyright page. Per the general BOMC convention of the period, club copies also carry an unpriced jacket and a small blind-stamped device on the rear board, though those conventions were not documented for this title specifically in the sources consulted, so rely on the absent "A"

I have a first edition of Kon-Tiki (Kon-Tiki ekspedisjonen) — 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.