# Is "The Prince of Abissinia (Rasselas)" by Samuel Johnson a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Prince of Abissinia (Rasselas) by Samuel Johnson (Printed for R. and J. Dodsley, and W. Johnston, London, 1759) is identified by: Two volumes, small octavo (c. The census note that 'the Rasselas title only appears on later editions' requires correction.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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
- Publisher imprint reads Printed for R. and J. Dodsley, and W. Johnston, London

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Samuel Johnson |
| Publisher | Printed for R. and J. Dodsley, and W. Johnston, London |
| Year | 1759 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Two volumes, small octavo (c |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## 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. II p. 161, line 2 reads 'indiscerptible' in the uncorrected state and 'indiscerpible' corrected. Fleeman records the variants; both states are the first edition and copies are found in either, so neither state disqualifies a copy. A terminal blank (M4) is called for and is frequently wanting. References: ESTC T139510; Fleeman I, pp. 785–88; Courtney & Nichol Smith p. 87; Chapman & Hazen pp. 142–43; Rothschild 1242; Tinker 1314; Liebert 73.

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Prince of Abissinia (Rasselas)* by Samuel Johnson a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-prince-of-abissinia-rasselas
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.