# Is "The Albert N'Yanza, Great Basin of the Nile, and Explorations of the Nile Sources" by Samuel White Baker a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Albert N'Yanza, Great Basin of the Nile, and Explorations of the Nile Sources by Samuel White Baker (Macmillan and Co., 1866) is identified by: The true first edition was published in 1866 in two octavo volumes, collating approximately xxx + 395 pages in volume I and ix + 384 pages in volume II, bound in original gilt-stamped pictorial green cloth. An American edition was issued by J.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first edition was published in 1866 in two octavo volumes, collating approximately xxx + 395 pages in volume I and ix + 384 pages in volume II, bound in original gilt-stamped pictorial green cloth
- Volume I carries a double-portrait engraved frontispiece of Baker and his wife Florence together with a folding color map, while volume II carries a tinted lithographic frontispiece and further plates
- In the first issue, both volumes' Lists of Illustrations call for two maps, but as issued the maps are bound only into volume I, leaving volume II without them
- Volume I also includes a plate titled 'Skirmishing with the Natives' (opposite page 350) that is not called for in either volume's List of Illustrations
- The book recounts Baker's 1861-65 expedition, undertaken with his wife Florence, to the equatorial lake sources of the Nile, culminating in his naming of Lake Albert
- Publisher imprint reads Macmillan and Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Samuel White Baker |
| Publisher | Macmillan and Co. |
| Year | 1866 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first edition was published in 1866 in two octavo volumes, collating approximately xxx + 395 pages in volume I and ix + 384 pages… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The true first edition was published in 1866 in two octavo volumes, collating approximately xxx + 395 pages in volume I and ix + 384 pages in volume II, bound in original gilt-stamped pictorial green cloth. Volume I carries a double-portrait engraved frontispiece of Baker and his wife Florence together with a folding color map, while volume II carries a tinted lithographic frontispiece and further plates. In the first issue, both volumes' Lists of Illustrations call for two maps, but as issued the maps are bound only into volume I, leaving volume II without them. Volume I also includes a plate titled 'Skirmishing with the Natives' (opposite page 350) that is not called for in either volume's List of Illustrations. The book recounts Baker's 1861-65 expedition, undertaken with his wife Florence, to the equatorial lake sources of the Nile, culminating in his naming of Lake Albert.

## Is this the true first?
An American edition was issued by J. B. Lippincott & Co. of Philadelphia, with different pagination and binding from the Macmillan London printing, which is the true first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Albert N'Yanza, Great Basin of the Nile, and Explorations of the Nile Sources* by Samuel White Baker a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-albert-nyanza-great-basin-of-the-nile-and-explorations-o
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.