Is My Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile, in the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773 a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first edition is a five-volume quarto set, collating [xii], lxxxiv, 535, [1]; [iv], viii, 718; [iv], viii, 759, [1]; [iv], viii, 695, [1]; [iv], xiv, 230, [12] pages
• It is illustrated with roughly sixty plates and maps in total, including three large folding maps of Eastern Africa and Lake Tana, an engraved title-page vignette in each volume, and, in volume I, several inserted leaves of Ethiopian-language text (Ge'ez and Amharic) reproduced from Bruce's own transcriptions
• Bruce did not write up his account until he retired to his Scottish estate at Kinnaird, at the urging of Daines Barrington, some seventeen years after completing the journey the book describes

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. 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.
5. 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 Edinburgh printing by J. Ruthven for G.G.J. and J. Robinson is the recognized first and 'best' edition of the text; a rival, unauthorized Dublin printing, from the press of William Sleater, also began appearing in 1790, with its first and sixth volumes dated 1790 and the remaining volumes dated 1791. Collectors should confirm the Edinburgh, Ruthven-printed imprint rather than assume any 1790-dated set is the true first.P-036044

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

A substantially revised and enlarged second edition, edited from Bruce's papers by Alexander Murray, appeared in Edinburgh in 1804-05, with a further Murray-edited edition following in 1813; both are distinct later editions, not the 1790 first, and should not be confused with it.P-036045

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile, in the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773 a first edition?

A first edition of Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile, in the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773 by James Bruce (J. Ruthven, for G.G.J. and J. Robinson) is identified by: The true first edition is a five-volume quarto set, collating [xii], lxxxiv, 535, [1]; [iv], viii, 718; [iv], viii, 759, [1]; [iv], viii, 695, [1]; [iv], xiv, 230, [12] pages.

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 Edinburgh printing by J.

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

A substantially revised and enlarged second edition, edited from Bruce's papers by Alexander Murray, appeared in Edinburgh in 1804-05, with a further Murray-edited edition following in 1813; both are distinct later editions, not the 1790 first, and should not be confused with it.

I have a first edition of Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile, in the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773 — 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.