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First-Edition Identification · John Muir

Is My My First Summer in the Sierra a First Edition?

Houghton Mifflin, 1911

The points of issue

First trade edition, Houghton Mifflin, 1911 (published June 1911), with illustrations from the author's pencil sketches and from photographs (plates by Herbert W. Gleason and others) and a folding map; issued under the Riverside Press imprint. The first printing carries the 1911 imprint and no statement of later printings on the copyright page.

Decode the printer’s key: paste the number line into the decoder · Houghton Mifflin first-edition guide.

Is this the true first?

True first US (Houghton Mifflin, 1911). The text first appeared in part in The Atlantic Monthly in 1911 before the full book. Constable issued the UK edition.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Numerous later Houghton Mifflin and Sierra Club reprints exist; confirm the 1911 imprint and the absence of additional-printing notations. Modern illustrated reissues are 'first thus.'

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of My First Summer in the Sierra a first edition?

Look for these first-edition points: First trade edition, Houghton Mifflin, 1911 (published June 1911), with illustrations from the author's pencil sketches and from photographs (plates by Herbert W. Gleason and others) and a folding map; issued under the Riverside Press imprint. The first printing carries the 1911 imprint and no statement of later printings on the copyright page.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page for the publisher's first-printing convention and confirm the points above. True first US (Houghton Mifflin, 1911). The text first appeared in part in The Atlantic Monthly in 1911 before the full book. Constable issued the UK edition.

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

Numerous later Houghton Mifflin and Sierra Club reprints exist; confirm the 1911 imprint and the absence of additional-printing notations. Modern illustrated reissues are 'first thus.'

I have a first edition of My First Summer in the Sierra — what should I do?

If you're clearing books, New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup in Albuquerque, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies aren't lost. To sell, see the author's collecting guide. Either way, nothing valuable ends up in a landfill.

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