# Is "Adam of the Road" by Elizabeth Janet Gray a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray (The Viking Press, 1942) is identified by: First edition 1942, Viking (New York). US true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition 1942, Viking (New York)
- First printing carries the Viking 'First Published 1942' statement on the copyright page with no later printings listed
- Illustrations by Robert Lawson; pictorial cloth
- Publisher imprint reads The Viking Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Elizabeth Janet Gray |
| Publisher | The Viking Press |
| Year | 1942 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | First edition 1942, Viking (New York) |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition 1942, Viking (New York). First printing carries the Viking 'First Published 1942' statement on the copyright page with no later printings listed. Illustrations by Robert Lawson; pictorial cloth.

## Is this the true first?
US true first. Won the Newbery Medal in 1943.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Viking later printings add further printing statements. Wartime printings on inferior paper still must show the first-printing statement to qualify as a first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Adam of the Road* by Elizabeth Janet Gray a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/adam-of-the-road
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.