# Is "The Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man" by Charles Lyell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man by Charles Lyell (John Murray, 1863) is identified by: Three editions all appeared within 1863 alone -- the first on 6 February, a second in April, and a third in November -- so the title page must be checked for an edition statement; a true first has none. London (Murray, 6 February 1863) precedes any American printing; George W.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Three editions all appeared within 1863 alone -- the first on 6 February, a second in April, and a third in November -- so the title page must be checked for an edition statement; a true first has none
- Octavo, pp. xii, 520, with a frontispiece and a second plate at page 252, plus 58 woodcut illustrations and maps in the text
- The second edition added a seven-page appendix that is entirely absent from the first edition
- Publisher imprint reads John Murray
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Charles Lyell |
| Publisher | John Murray |
| Year | 1863 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Three editions all appeared within 1863 alone -- the first on 6 February, a second in April, and a third in November -- so the title page… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Three editions all appeared within 1863 alone -- the first on 6 February, a second in April, and a third in November -- so the title page must be checked for an edition statement; a true first has none. Octavo, pp. xii, 520, with a frontispiece and a second plate at page 252, plus 58 woodcut illustrations and maps in the text. The second edition added a seven-page appendix that is entirely absent from the first edition.

## Is this the true first?
London (Murray, 6 February 1863) precedes any American printing; George W. Childs of Philadelphia issued American editions the same year, including one explicitly marked 'Second American Edition.'

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A much-revised fourth edition (John Murray, 1873, pp. 572, with an expanded subtitle covering glacial and post-Tertiary geology) followed a decade later and is explicitly marked 'Fourth Edition, revised' on the title page, unlike the unmarked first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man* by Charles Lyell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-geological-evidences-of-the-antiquity-of-man
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.