Is My The Prince of Abissinia (Rasselas) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Two volumes, small octavo (c
• 151 × 100 mm), published anonymously in April 1759 with the imprint 'London: Printed for R. and J. Dodsley, and W. Johnston, 1759'; printed by William Strahan in an edition of about 1,500 copies
• Collation: pp. viii, 159, [1]; viii, 165, [1]. Johnson's name does not appear on the title-page and no edition statement is present — the second edition, also 1759, states 'The Second Edition'
• Two states of leaf A2 in vol
• II are recorded: the earlier headed simply 'CONTENTS', later corrected to 'CONTENTS / OF THE / SECOND VOLUME' to match the corresponding leaf in vol
• I. A companion textual point at vol

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Verify this is the American true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

The census note that 'the Rasselas title only appears on later editions' requires correction. The name is already present in the first edition: the drop-head title on p. 1 of both volumes reads 'The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia'. What is true — and is the real point — is that Rasselas never appears on a title-page published in Johnson's lifetime; the London 1759 title-page reads 'The Prince of Abissinia. A Tale.' Dealers (Peter Harrington, Bauman) note the sole lifetime exception is the first American edition, which they date 1768; one secondary account instead gives 1766 for a Robert Bell Philadelphia printing, and because the sources consulted conflict, no date for the American edition is asserted here. The London 1759 Dodsley/Johnston printing is the true first; the American edition is a reprint and not a competing first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club editions for a 1759 title; the traps are the 1759 second edition (title-page states 'The Second Edition'), the many later London and Dublin reprints, and post-lifetime editions that place 'The History of Rasselas' on the title-page — the form under which virtually every modern reprint appears. Miniature and gift-book Rasselases are 'first thus' at most. Practical rule: if the title-page says Rasselas, it is not the 1759 first.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Prince of Abissinia (Rasselas) a first edition?

A first edition of The Prince of Abissinia (Rasselas) by Samuel Johnson (Printed for R. and J. Dodsley, and W. Johnston, London) is identified by: Two volumes, small octavo (c.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. The census note that 'the Rasselas title only appears on later editions' requires correction.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

No book-club editions for a 1759 title; the traps are the 1759 second edition (title-page states 'The Second Edition'), the many later London and Dublin reprints, and post-lifetime editions that place 'The History of Rasselas' on the title-page — the form under which virtually every modern reprint appears. Miniature and gift-book Rasselases are 'first thus' at most. Practical rule: if the title-page says Rasselas, it is not the 1759 first.

I have a first edition of The Prince of Abissinia (Rasselas) — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.