# Is "Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Meccah" by Richard F. Burton a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Meccah by Richard F. Burton (Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1855) 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. 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.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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
- Publisher imprint reads Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Richard F. Burton |
| Publisher | Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans |
| Year | 1855 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first edition appeared in three octavo volumes: volumes I ('El-Misr') and II ('El-Medinah') were published in 1855, with the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## 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.

## 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.

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Meccah* by Richard F. Burton a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/personal-narrative-of-a-pilgrimage-to-el-medinah-and-meccah
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.