# Is "Principles of Geology" by Charles Lyell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Principles of Geology by Charles Lyell (John Murray, 1830) is identified by: First edition, issued in three separately dated volumes -- volume I in January 1830, volume II in January 1832, and volume III in May 1833 -- in a first printing of about 1,500 copies. Murray reprinted volumes I and II (dated 1832 and 1833) to accompany volume III's May 1833 debut, so a genuine first-edition set requires the original 1830 volume I and 1832 volume II paired with the 1833 volume III; a set in which the same year appears on two volumes signals a mixed reprint rather than three true first-issue volumes.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, issued in three separately dated volumes -- volume I in January 1830, volume II in January 1832, and volume III in May 1833 -- in a first printing of about 1,500 copies
- Volume I collates xvi, 511, [1] (an advertisement leaf); no half-titles were issued for volume II. Illustrated with three engraved frontispieces (two hand-colored aquatints), four map plates (two hand-colored), and more than 130 wood-engraved text figures and diagrams
- Publisher's binding is horizontally grained green cloth, spines lettered in gilt, top edge stained green, other edges speckled red
- Publisher imprint reads John Murray
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Charles Lyell |
| Publisher | John Murray |
| Year | 1830 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, issued in three separately dated volumes -- volume I in January 1830, volume II in January 1832, and volume III in May 1833… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, issued in three separately dated volumes -- volume I in January 1830, volume II in January 1832, and volume III in May 1833 -- in a first printing of about 1,500 copies. Volume I collates xvi, 511, [1] (an advertisement leaf); no half-titles were issued for volume II. Illustrated with three engraved frontispieces (two hand-colored aquatints), four map plates (two hand-colored), and more than 130 wood-engraved text figures and diagrams. Publisher's binding is horizontally grained green cloth, spines lettered in gilt, top edge stained green, other edges speckled red.

## Is this the true first?
Murray reprinted volumes I and II (dated 1832 and 1833) to accompany volume III's May 1833 debut, so a genuine first-edition set requires the original 1830 volume I and 1832 volume II paired with the 1833 volume III; a set in which the same year appears on two volumes signals a mixed reprint rather than three true first-issue volumes.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Lyell revised the work through eleven editions by 1872, plus a twelfth posthumous edition in 1875; the volume count changed repeatedly -- four volumes for the third through fifth editions (1834-37), three for the sixth (1840), and two from the tenth edition (1867-68) onward -- so any set that does not collate as three volumes dated 1830, 1832, and 1833, or that carries any edition statement, is not the first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Principles of Geology* by Charles Lyell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/principles-of-geology
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.