Is My On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, John Murray, London, 24 November 1859: 1,250 copies printed (1,192 offered for sale)
• THE diagnostic point (Freeman) is the verso of the half-title leaf, which carries only two quotations -- from Whewell and Bacon; a third quotation, from Butler's 'Analogy,' was added only in the 1860 second edition
• Supporting first-edition readings that Darwin later altered include the misprint 'speceies' for 'species' at p.20, line 11, and the bear-swimming-'like a whale' passage given in full at p.184 (softened in the second edition) -- but Freeman states these are NOT necessary for identification and should not be relied on alone
• Bound in original green cloth, blocked in blind with the spine lettered gilt
• Copies frequently retain a 32-page inserted catalogue of Murray's general list dated June 1859, though its presence is not essential
• Title page dated 1859; it carries no printed price

How John Murray marked a first edition

• No formal edition statement on most 19th-century Murray firsts: identify by the title-page date with no 'New Edition' / 'Second Edition' / number-of-thousand line, the correct imprint ('John Murray, Albemarle Street'), a…

Full John Murray first-edition guide →

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. Read the indicia — a first-printing single issue carries no later-printing line; a collected edition is “first thus,” not the true first.
4. Verify this is the American true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

Format & printing

This title first appeared as a single issue / periodical, not a trade book. The true first is the first-printing single issue; later trade paperbacks or hardcover collections are “first thus.” Check the indicia (the small-print publication block) for a printing statement.

Is this the true first?

The true first is the 1859 London John Murray first edition. The 1860 New York (D. Appleton) printing is the first American edition, not the first overall. The point that separates the 1859 first from the 1860 second edition is the half-title verso: two quotations (Whewell, Bacon) in the first, three (the Butler quotation added) in the second. There is effectively a single issue of the 1859 first edition; the 'speceies' misprint is a first-edition reading, NOT -- as sometimes claimed -- the single decisive identification point.P-036516

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Numerous later facsimiles and photo-reprints exist (e.g., the Harvard facsimile edition) and carry later imprints or explicit facsimile statements. A genuine 1859 first is identified by the 1859 title-page date together with the two-quotation half-title verso; the 'speceies' misprint and the June 1859 Murray ads are corroborating, not decisive, and neither the ads' presence nor the misprint alone proves a first.P-036517

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection a first edition?

A first edition of On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin (John Murray) is identified by: First edition, John Murray, London, 24 November 1859: 1,250 copies printed (1,192 offered for sale).

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

Check the copyright page. For a single issue, the indicia shows the printing. The true first is the 1859 London John Murray first edition.

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

Numerous later facsimiles and photo-reprints exist (e.g., the Harvard facsimile edition) and carry later imprints or explicit facsimile statements. A genuine 1859 first is identified by the 1859 title-page date together with the two-quotation half-title verso; the 'speceies' misprint and the June 1859 Murray ads are corroborating, not decisive, and neither the ads' presence nor the misprint alone proves a first.

I have a first edition of On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection — 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.