# Is "Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians" by George Catlin a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (Published by the Author, at the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, 1841) is identified by: London: published by the author, 1841, two volumes, title pages printed in red and black; the title page states "four hundred illustrations," but the plates are in fact 309 full-page engravings after Catlin's own paintings, plus three maps (one folding), irregularly numbered as issued and varying somewhat in count from copy to copy. Published first in London by Catlin himself in 1841; an authorized American edition, issued by Wiley and Putnam of New York, followed later in a different format.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- London: published by the author, 1841, two volumes, title pages printed in red and black; the title page states "four hundred illustrations," but the plates are in fact 309 full-page engravings after Catlin's own paintings, plus three maps (one folding), irregularly numbered as issued and varying somewhat in count from copy to copy
- The plates are signed "G. Catlin" at lower left and "Tosswill & Myers," the London printing firm, at lower right
- A recognized first-issue point is the misprint "Frederick" on page 104 of volume one, flagged on an errata slip tipped into some copies after page viii and silently corrected in the printed text of later issues -- so the uncorrected "Frederick" reading identifies first-issue sheets whether or not the errata slip survives
- Catlin sold the book himself alongside admission to his traveling Indian Gallery exhibition at the Egyptian Hall, and surviving copies show a range of contemporary bindings, from original cloth to later rebindings in morocco
- Publisher imprint reads Published by the Author, at the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | George Catlin |
| Publisher | Published by the Author, at the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly |
| Year | 1841 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | London: published by the author, 1841, two volumes, title pages printed in red and black; the title page states "four hundred… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
London: published by the author, 1841, two volumes, title pages printed in red and black; the title page states "four hundred illustrations," but the plates are in fact 309 full-page engravings after Catlin's own paintings, plus three maps (one folding), irregularly numbered as issued and varying somewhat in count from copy to copy. The plates are signed "G. Catlin" at lower left and "Tosswill & Myers," the London printing firm, at lower right. A recognized first-issue point is the misprint "Frederick" on page 104 of volume one, flagged on an errata slip tipped into some copies after page viii and silently corrected in the printed text of later issues -- so the uncorrected "Frederick" reading identifies first-issue sheets whether or not the errata slip survives. Catlin sold the book himself alongside admission to his traveling Indian Gallery exhibition at the Egyptian Hall, and surviving copies show a range of contemporary bindings, from original cloth to later rebindings in morocco.

## Is this the true first?
Published first in London by Catlin himself in 1841; an authorized American edition, issued by Wiley and Putnam of New York, followed later in a different format.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Numerous later 19th- and 20th-century reprints and abridgments (some retitled simply "North American Indians") are commonly sold under the popular name "Catlin's Indians" but are not the 1841 London first; they lack the red-and-black title pages and the plate-numbering irregularities of the first issue.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians* by George Catlin a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/letters-and-notes-on-the-manners-customs-and-condition-of-th
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.