# Is "Kon-Tiki (Kon-Tiki ekspedisjonen)" by Thor Heyerdahl a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Kon-Tiki (Kon-Tiki ekspedisjonen) by Thor Heyerdahl (Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, 1948) is identified by: The true first is the Norwegian "Kon-Tiki ekspedisjonen," Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, Oslo, published 2 November 1948 and issued in hardcover. The original-language Norwegian edition (Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, Oslo, 1948) has clear precedence; both English editions are 1950 translations by F.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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
- Publisher imprint reads Gyldendal Norsk Forlag
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Thor Heyerdahl |
| Publisher | Gyldendal Norsk Forlag |
| Year | 1948 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first is the Norwegian "Kon-Tiki ekspedisjonen," Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, Oslo, published 2 November 1948 and issued in hardcover |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## 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.

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Kon-Tiki (Kon-Tiki ekspedisjonen)* by Thor Heyerdahl a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/kon-tiki-kon-tiki-ekspedisjonen
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.