# Is "New Arabian Nights" by Robert Louis Stevenson a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of New Arabian Nights by Robert Louis Stevenson (Chatto & Windus, 1882) is identified by: First collected in book form in two volumes by Chatto & Windus in 1882, gathering stories including 'The Suicide Club' and 'The Rajah's Diamond' that had run in magazines from 1877. A Henry Holt & Co.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First collected in book form in two volumes by Chatto & Windus in 1882, gathering stories including 'The Suicide Club' and 'The Rajah's Diamond' that had run in magazines from 1877
- The first edition collates [12], 269, [3]; viii, 234, [2], 32 pp., the final 32 pages being a publisher's catalogue dated May 1882 bound at the rear of volume II. The publisher's binding is light green cloth stamped decoratively in black and brown
- Two textual points mark the first printing: page 155 of volume II is misnumbered '55,' and the word 'Maletroit' is misprinted as 'Maledroit' on page 179
- Publisher imprint reads Chatto & Windus
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert Louis Stevenson |
| Publisher | Chatto & Windus |
| Year | 1882 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First collected in book form in two volumes by Chatto & Windus in 1882, gathering stories including 'The Suicide Club' and 'The Rajah's… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First collected in book form in two volumes by Chatto & Windus in 1882, gathering stories including 'The Suicide Club' and 'The Rajah's Diamond' that had run in magazines from 1877. The first edition collates [12], 269, [3]; viii, 234, [2], 32 pp., the final 32 pages being a publisher's catalogue dated May 1882 bound at the rear of volume II. The publisher's binding is light green cloth stamped decoratively in black and brown. Two textual points mark the first printing: page 155 of volume II is misnumbered '55,' and the word 'Maletroit' is misprinted as 'Maledroit' on page 179.

## Is this the true first?
A Henry Holt & Co. New York edition (Leisure Hour Series, no. 141) appeared the same year; the Chatto & Windus London edition of 1882 is the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Second-edition Chatto & Windus printings are marked 'Second Edition' on the title page and can be distinguished by additional signature marks and device leaves not present in the first printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *New Arabian Nights* by Robert Louis Stevenson a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/new-arabian-nights
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.