# Is "The Oregon Trail" by Francis Parkman a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Oregon Trail by Francis Parkman (George P. Putnam, 1849) is identified by: First published in book form in 1849 by George P. The 1849 George P.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First published in book form in 1849 by George P. Putnam, New York, under the fuller title 'The California and Oregon Trail: Being Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life' — in publisher's cloth (1849 trade books were issued without dust jackets)
- First-printing / first-issue points: Binding 'A,' with the author's surname in a SANS-SERIF typeface on the spine (found only in the first printing); the advertisement leaf present preceding the frontispiece; tinted lithographic frontispiece and vignette title after F.O.C. Darley; collation [2, ads], 448, [8, ads] pp
- Referenced BAL 15446, Howes P97, Wagner-Camp 170, Flake-Draper 6101 (the terminal publisher's catalogue varies and does not affect priority)
- The short title 'The Oregon Trail' belongs to later editions, not this 1849 first
- Publisher imprint reads George P. Putnam
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Francis Parkman |
| Publisher | George P. Putnam |
| Year | 1849 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First published in book form in 1849 by George P. Putnam, New York, under the fuller title 'The California and Oregon Trail: Being Sketches… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First published in book form in 1849 by George P. Putnam, New York, under the fuller title 'The California and Oregon Trail: Being Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life' — in publisher's cloth (1849 trade books were issued without dust jackets). First-printing / first-issue points: Binding 'A,' with the author's surname in a SANS-SERIF typeface on the spine (found only in the first printing); the advertisement leaf present preceding the frontispiece; tinted lithographic frontispiece and vignette title after F.O.C. Darley; collation [2, ads], 448, [8, ads] pp. Referenced BAL 15446, Howes P97, Wagner-Camp 170, Flake-Draper 6101 (the terminal publisher's catalogue varies and does not affect priority). The short title 'The Oregon Trail' belongs to later editions, not this 1849 first.

## Is this the true first?
The 1849 George P. Putnam edition titled 'The California and Oregon Trail' is the true first in book form. The narrative first appeared serially in the Knickerbocker Magazine (21 installments, 1847-49) as 'The Oregon Trail; or, A Summer's Journey Out of Bounds' — so 'Oregon Trail' was in fact the ORIGINAL title, and Putnam prepended 'California' for the book to exploit the 1849 Gold Rush. The familiar short title was restored only with the revised 1872 (Little, Brown) edition; that 1872 revision and the celebrated Frederic Remington-illustrated edition (Little, Brown, 1892) are both 'first thus,' not the 1849 first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition in the modern sense. The persistent trap is title-driven: any copy titled simply 'The Oregon Trail' is NOT the 1849 first (which uses the longer 'California and Oregon Trail' title). The 1892 Little, Brown Remington-illustrated edition is a separate and much-loved 'first thus,' often mistaken for the true first because it carries the famous short title and lavish plates.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Oregon Trail* by Francis Parkman a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-oregon-trail
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.