Is My Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Meccah a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first edition appeared in three octavo volumes: volumes I ('El-Misr') and II ('El-Medinah') were published in 1855, with the concluding volume III ('Meccah') following in 1856 after Burton's manuscript, delayed in transit from India, finally reached the publisher
• Collation is xiv, [1], 388; iv, 426; x, [1], 448 pages, illustrated with a folding map at the front of volume I, thirteen plates (five in color, eight tinted), and three further plans (two folding)
• Sets are bound in blue cloth and carry publisher's catalogues dated November 1855 at the ends of volumes I and III, with volume III carrying a half-title as called for

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

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. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
5. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

Because the work was issued in parts, a complete first-edition set requires volumes I-II dated 1855 and volume III dated 1856 as originally published; a set with all three volumes uniformly dated 1855 is not possible and should be treated with caution.P-036009

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

A posthumous 'Memorial Edition' of Burton's works, prepared under the direction of his widow Isabel Burton, reprinted the Pilgrimage in 1893; this later edited reprint is textually and physically distinct from the 1855-56 first edition described above.P-036010

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Meccah a first edition?

A first edition of Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Meccah by Richard F. Burton (Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans) is identified by: The true first edition appeared in three octavo volumes: volumes I ('El-Misr') and II ('El-Medinah') were published in 1855, with the concluding volume III ('Meccah') following in 1856 after Burton's manuscript, delayed in transit from India, finally reached the publisher.

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

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. Because the work was issued in parts, a complete first-edition set requires volumes I-II dated 1855 and volume III dated 1856 as originally published; a set with all three volumes uniformly dated 1855 is not possible and should be treated with caution.

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

A posthumous 'Memorial Edition' of Burton's works, prepared under the direction of his widow Isabel Burton, reprinted the Pilgrimage in 1893; this later edited reprint is textually and physically distinct from the 1855-56 first edition described above.

I have a first edition of Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Meccah — 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.