# Is "Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life" by Herman Melville a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life by Herman Melville (John Murray, 1846) is identified by: Melville's first book. Precedence by date belongs to the London John Murray edition (late February 1846), which preceded the New York Wiley & Putnam edition (March 1846).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Melville's first book
- UK (John Murray, late February 1846): issued in Murray's Home and Colonial Library, titled 'Narrative of a Four Months' Residence Among the Natives of a Valley of the Marquesas Islands,' set from Melville's manuscript
- US (Wiley & Putnam, March 1846): titled 'Typee,' in two parts, set from proof sheets of the Murray edition; the first American issue retains the fuller original text that was further expurgated for the later revised American edition
- Publisher imprint reads John Murray
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Herman Melville |
| Publisher | John Murray |
| Year | 1846 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Melville's first book |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Melville's first book. UK (John Murray, late February 1846): issued in Murray's Home and Colonial Library, titled 'Narrative of a Four Months' Residence Among the Natives of a Valley of the Marquesas Islands,' set from Melville's manuscript. US (Wiley & Putnam, March 1846): titled 'Typee,' in two parts, set from proof sheets of the Murray edition; the first American issue retains the fuller original text that was further expurgated for the later revised American edition.

## Is this the true first?
Precedence by date belongs to the London John Murray edition (late February 1846), which preceded the New York Wiley & Putnam edition (March 1846). The expurgated 'Revised Edition' (Wiley & Putnam, later in 1846) is a distinct later state; the first American issue carries the earlier, fuller text.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The revised/expurgated American printing and later Harper reissues postdate the first; check for the earlier unexpurgated text and the correct 1846 imprint.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life* by Herman Melville a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/typee-a-peep-at-polynesian-life
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.