# Is "Philosophical Essays Concerning Human Understanding (An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding)" by David Hume a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Philosophical Essays Concerning Human Understanding (An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding) by David Hume (Printed for A. Millar, London, 1748) is identified by: One volume, duodecimo (measured by dealers at c. The census claim is correct, and this is one of the standard title-change traps in philosophy collecting.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- One volume, duodecimo (measured by dealers at c
- 163–166 × 95–98 mm), collating pp. iv, 256, [4], the final leaves carrying Millar's advertisements; woodcut device on the title-page
- The imprint reads 'London: Printed for A. Millar, 1748'
- Hume's name is not on the title-page: it reads 'Philosophical Essays concerning Human Understanding
- By the Author of the Essays Moral and Political.' — that by-the-author-of formula, with no edition statement present, is the identification test
- The volume contains twelve essays and includes the first appearance in print of 'Of Miracles'
- Publisher imprint reads Printed for A. Millar, London

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | David Hume |
| Publisher | Printed for A. Millar, London |
| Year | 1748 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | One volume, duodecimo (measured by dealers at c |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
One volume, duodecimo (measured by dealers at c. 163–166 × 95–98 mm), collating pp. iv, 256, [4], the final leaves carrying Millar's advertisements; woodcut device on the title-page. The imprint reads 'London: Printed for A. Millar, 1748'. Hume's name is not on the title-page: it reads 'Philosophical Essays concerning Human Understanding. By the Author of the Essays Moral and Political.' — that by-the-author-of formula, with no edition statement present, is the identification test. The volume contains twelve essays and includes the first appearance in print of 'Of Miracles'. References: ESTC T4022; Jessop p. 19; Chuo 38; Todd 1747(2).

## Is this the true first?
The census claim is correct, and this is one of the standard title-change traps in philosophy collecting. The 1748 Millar Philosophical Essays is the first edition in any form of the work now universally known as An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding; the Enquiry title dates only from the 1758 Essays and Treatises on Several Subjects, in which Hume renamed and reordered his philosophical writings for the last time. The practical consequence: anyone seeking 'the first edition of the Enquiry' who buys a book with the word Enquiry on its title-page cannot, by definition, have it. No UK/US or original-language precedence question arises — the work was written and first published in English, in London, and American printings are far later.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book clubs; the traps are Hume's own reissues and the title change. A second edition of the Philosophical Essays appeared in 1750, was reprinted in 1751, and appeared again in 1753 as vol. II of the four-volume Essays and Treatises on Several Subjects. The 1758 Essays and Treatises is the first appearance under the Enquiry title, and the posthumous 1777 text is the one most modern editions follow. Any copy bearing an edition statement, an 'Essays and Treatises' collective title-page, or the word 'Enquiry' is a later printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Philosophical Essays Concerning Human Understanding (An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding)* by David Hume a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/philosophical-essays-concerning-human-understanding-an-enqui
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.