# Is "Rob Roy" by Walter Scott a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Rob Roy by Walter Scott (Archibald Constable and Co., 1818) is identified by: First edition, first issue (Todd & Bowden 112Aa), three volumes dated 1818 on the title page though issued in Edinburgh on 30 December 1817 (the London issue via Longman followed on 13 January 1818). The Edinburgh issue of 30 December 1817 (though title-paged 1818) precedes the London issue of 13 January 1818.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first issue (Todd & Bowden 112Aa), three volumes dated 1818 on the title page though issued in Edinburgh on 30 December 1817 (the London issue via Longman followed on 13 January 1818)
- The publisher named on volume one's title page is Archibald Constable, not Blackwood, marking Scott's return to Constable after his immediately preceding novels, the 'Tales of My Landlord' series, had been issued by Blackwood and Murray
- Genuine first-issue sets are bound with half-titles present in each volume; these are scarce and often missing from rebound copies
- Publisher imprint reads Archibald Constable and Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Walter Scott |
| Publisher | Archibald Constable and Co. |
| Year | 1818 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first issue (Todd & Bowden 112Aa), three volumes dated 1818 on the title page though issued in Edinburgh on 30 December 1817… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, first issue (Todd & Bowden 112Aa), three volumes dated 1818 on the title page though issued in Edinburgh on 30 December 1817 (the London issue via Longman followed on 13 January 1818). The publisher named on volume one's title page is Archibald Constable, not Blackwood, marking Scott's return to Constable after his immediately preceding novels, the 'Tales of My Landlord' series, had been issued by Blackwood and Murray. Genuine first-issue sets are bound with half-titles present in each volume; these are scarce and often missing from rebound copies.

## Is this the true first?
The Edinburgh issue of 30 December 1817 (though title-paged 1818) precedes the London issue of 13 January 1818.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Two further printings from the same setting of type followed within the next two weeks, bearing 'Second Edition' (about 2,500 copies, 7 January 1818) and 'Third Edition' (about 2,500 copies, 10 January 1818) on their title pages as a sales device; bibliographers treat these as issues of the first edition rather than as textually revised reprints.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Rob Roy* by Walter Scott a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/rob-roy
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.