Roald Dahl First Editions

• The Gremlins — 1943 · Random HouseFull title reads 'Walt Disney: The Gremlins, A Royal Air Force Story by Flight Lieutenant Roald Dahl,' illustrated by the Staff of the Walt Disney Productions. First edition carries a single 'First edition' statement on the copyright page and a first-issue jacket bearing the original price on the front flap. Quarto in pictorial boards / half cloth with color plates and pictorial endpapers. Dahl's first book and first children's title; the US Random House / Disney edition is the true first. A UK issue (Collins) followed. Illustrations are credited to the Walt Disney studio staff rather than to Walt Disney personally. Later facsimile reprints (for example the 2006 Dark Horse edition) are clearly marked and modern.
• Over to You: Ten Stories of Flyers and Flying — 1946 · Reynal & HitchcockUS first printing bound in beige/tan cloth with the title and author stamped in red and blue. Following the period convention, the copyright page carries no later-printing statement, and the acknowledgments crediting the magazines in which the stories first appeared are present (an early run lacking these attributions was suppressed before general release). The first-issue dust jacket carries the original printed…. The US Reynal & Hitchcock edition (1946) precedes the UK Hamish Hamilton edition (also 1946). A December 1945 printing was suppressed by the publisher over the missing magazine copyright attributions and never generally distributed; the revised 1946 printing, carrying those acknowledgments, is the accepted first edition. This was Dahl's second book and his first collection of stories for adults, drawn from his…. Book-club editions show book-club markings (a blind-stamp to the rear board and cheaper paper) and come in a jacket lacking the printed flap price.
• Sometime Never: A Fable for Supermen — 1948 · Charles Scribner's SonsScribner's single 'A' on the copyright page below the statement identifies the first printing. Bound in full red cloth, 244 pages, small octavo. First-issue jacket carries the original printed price on the flap (present, unclipped). Only one printing was made in the US. The US Scribner edition (1948) precedes the UK Collins edition (1949) by a year. The US edition is actually titled 'Some Time Never' (three words) while the UK Collins issue is 'Sometime Never'; the UK text revised the final chapter. This was Dahl's first novel (his third book) and an early post-Hiroshima nuclear-war fable in which Gremlins inherit the Earth. Points per Richard Walker's collecting guide. Book-club editions lack the Scribner 'A' and the flap price; both US and UK saw only a single printing each.
• Someone Like You — 1953 · Alfred A. KnopfAlfred A. Knopf, New York, 1953. Bound in cream cloth, the spine and front cover lettered in black on a purple ground, with the top edge stained light purple and the fore-edge untrimmed. The Knopf first carries a 'First Edition' statement with the Borzoi device and no later-printing notation; the first-issue dust jacket should retain its original printed flap price. The US Knopf edition (1953) precedes the UK Secker & Warburg edition (1954). The Secker & Warburg issue omitted two stories ('The Neck' and 'The Great Automatic Grammatisator') present in the Knopf edition. Adult short stories. Book-club editions lack the 'First Edition' statement and the printed flap price, and typically substitute plainer boards for the purple-and-black cream cloth.
• Kiss Kiss — 1960 · Alfred A. KnopfFor the UK Michael Joseph issue: publisher's green cloth with gilt lettering to the spine, pale yellow endpapers, and the top edge stained red; the dust jacket was designed by Charles E. Skaggs and carries its original printed price to the front flap. The copyright page follows Michael Joseph's standard single-statement practice ('Published in Great Britain' with the date and no later dates or printing…. Precedence is genuinely close and debated. The UK Michael Joseph edition and the US Knopf edition both appear in 1960, and at least one dealer dates the Knopf issue 1959, which would make it the chronological first. Many collectors treat the Michael Joseph UK issue as the true first, while others hold Knopf earliest; confirm the dated copyright page and stated 'First Edition' (Knopf) or the single 'Published in…. Book-club editions lack the publisher's 'First Edition' statement and the printed flap price, and are typically on thinner boards.
• James and the Giant Peach — 1961 · Alfred A. KnopfTrue first is the US Alfred A. Knopf edition (1961) with no printing statement and no later titles listed. The earliest issue is identified by the colophon reading 'Bound by H. Wolff, New York' (later printings substitute 'The Book Press'). Publisher's red cloth boards, upper board blind-stamped with a boy encircled in a wreath, gilt lettering to the spine; top edge stained yellow, green endpapers; Nancy Ekholm…. US Knopf (1961) is the true first, preceding the UK George Allen & Unwin edition (1967). The Wolff colophon, red cloth binding, and Burkert art together define the earliest state. Book-club editions omit any first-edition points, are reduced in size, and lack the printed jacket price. The UK first uses Michel Simeon art (and later Quentin Blake), which is a separate 'first thus.' A Knopf copy with 'The Book Press' colophon is a later binding state rather than the earliest issue.
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory — 1964 · Alfred A. KnopfUS Alfred A. Knopf, 1964 (published September 1964; first printing 10,000 copies). The copyright page states 'FIRST EDITION,' but the decisive first-printing point is the colophon on the last printed page: a genuine first printing has a SIX-line colophon whose final line reads 'Paper manufactured by S. D. Warren Co.'; later printings drop that sentence, leaving a FIVE-line colophon (the 'First Edition' wording…. The US Alfred A. Knopf edition (1964) is the true first, preceding the UK George Allen & Unwin edition (1967, illustrated by Faith Jaques, issued without a jacket) by three years. Identify the first printing by the six-line colophon ('Paper manufactured by S. D. Warren Co.') on the last page and the SBN-less first-state jacket, not by the 'First Edition' statement alone. Any copy with a FIVE-line colophon (the 'S. D. Warren' line dropped) is a reprint, even if the copyright page still reads 'First Edition.' A jacket bearing an SBN/ISBN on the rear panel is a later state. Book-club editions lack the jacket price and use cheaper paper. Many post-1973 printings carry the revised Oompa-Loompa text; the UK line uses Faith Jaques's illustrations rather than Schindelman's.
• The Magic Finger — 1966 · Harper & RowThe words 'first edition' do NOT appear on the copyright page, so identification relies on the dust jacket: the first-issue wrapper carries the original lower price on the front flap, while later issues show a slightly higher flap price. Illustrated by William Pene du Bois. The US Harper & Row edition (1966) precedes the UK Allen & Unwin edition (1968); both use the du Bois illustrations. The UK issue was published without a dust wrapper and states 'first published in Great Britain in 1968.'. Book-club editions lack the first-issue flap price and jacket points.
• Fantastic Mr Fox — 1970 · George Allen & UnwinThe 1970 George Allen & Unwin edition is illustrated by Donald Chaffin (not the later Tony Ross or Quentin Blake reissues) and uses the publisher's standard statement, 'First published in Great Britain in 1970,' with no later-printing line. It was issued in laminated colour-pictorial glazed boards and WITHOUT a dust jacket, and the boards carry no printed price. The 1970 Donald Chaffin-illustrated edition is the genuine first appearance of the text. Precedence between the UK George Allen & Unwin issue and the US Alfred A. Knopf issue (also 1970) is disputed among dealers — they were close to simultaneous, so neither can be flatly asserted as 'the' true first over the other. Later Tony Ross and Quentin Blake illustrated printings are reissues, not the first. Because the original was issued in pictorial boards without a dust jacket, jacket-price and jacket blind-stamp tests do NOT apply to this title; identification rests on the Chaffin illustrations and the single 'First published in Great Britain in 1970' statement. Later illustrator reissues (Ross, Blake) are decades-later printings.
• Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator — 1972 · Alfred A. KnopfCopyright page states 'First Edition'. Illustrated with black-and-white drawings by Joseph Schindelman; first-issue dust jacket carries the original printed price. Quarter blue cloth spine with paper-covered boards. US Knopf first (1972) precedes the UK Allen & Unwin edition (1973); the UK edition used different artwork by Faith Jaques. Sequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Book-club editions lack the 'First Edition' statement and the printed jacket price.
• Danny, the Champion of the World — 1975 · Jonathan CapeTrue first is the 1975 Jonathan Cape edition illustrated by Jill Bennett (not the later Quentin Blake reissue), with the copyright page stating 'First published in Great Britain 1975' and no later-printing line; publisher's terracotta (orange) cloth boards with gilt spine lettering, in the first-issue Bennett wraparound pictorial dust jacket with the original printed UK price to the front flap. UK Jonathan Cape 1975 with Jill Bennett art is the true first; the US Alfred A. Knopf edition (also 1975, same Bennett illustrations) is a separate issue, and the later Quentin Blake-illustrated printings are reissues only. Quentin Blake-illustrated copies are later reissues; book-club copies of the original typically carry a blind-stamp and lack the printed jacket price.
• The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More — 1977 · Jonathan CapeUK Cape first dated 1977 with a single 'First published' statement and no later-printing notice; first-issue dust jacket carries the original printed price. Illustrated by Quentin Blake. UK Cape and US Knopf editions both appeared in 1977; the UK Cape issue is generally treated as the first, but simultaneous same-year issue means precedence is not firmly fixed. The Knopf edition is identified by a number line. Book-club editions lack the printed jacket price and the publisher's issue points.
• The Enormous Crocodile — 1978 · Jonathan CapeUK Cape first dated 1978 with a single 'First published' statement. Issued in glazed pictorial boards illustrated in colour by Quentin Blake, with green endpapers; no separate dust jacket was issued. This was the first Dahl title illustrated by Blake. UK Cape true first (published 1 November 1978); US Knopf edition also 1978. First book of the long Dahl-Blake partnership. Later printings add a printing statement; the true first shows only the single 'First published 1978' line.
• My Uncle Oswald — 1979 · Michael JosephFirst published by Michael Joseph in London in 1979, Dahl's first adult novel. Bound in dark blue cloth (boards) with the spine lettered in gilt. The pictorial dust jacket was designed by Dave Senior and carries the original printed price; the first printing shows the single 'First published' statement with no later-printing notice added beneath it. UK Michael Joseph true first (1979); the US Knopf edition followed in 1980. Book-club editions and later printings lack the single-statement issue point; later impressions are stated beneath the 'First published' line, and book-club copies lack the printed jacket price. A first shows dark blue cloth, gilt spine, and the Dave Senior jacket.
• The Twits — 1980 · Jonathan CapeUK Cape first dated 1980 with a single 'First published' statement; publisher's red cloth with gilt spine lettering and a first-issue dust jacket illustrated by Quentin Blake carrying the original printed price. UK Cape true first (1980); US Knopf edition 1981. Book-club editions lack the printed jacket price and the publisher's issue points.
• George's Marvellous Medicine — 1981 · Jonathan CapeThe Jonathan Cape first carries a single 'First published 1981' statement with no later-printing dates added beneath; bound in light blue cloth-effect boards with gilt spine lettering, in the first-issue Quentin Blake jacket bearing the original UK price to the front flap. Uncorrected proofs carry a provisional price and a stated May 1981 publication date and are not the trade first. The UK Jonathan Cape 1981 edition is the true first. The US Knopf edition, titled 'George's Marvelous Medicine' with American spelling, is a separate later issue. US 'Marvelous'-spelling copies are not the UK true first. Later Cape printings add subsequent printing dates beneath the 'First published 1981' line, and price-clipped jackets remove the identifying flap price.
• Revolting Rhymes — 1982 · Jonathan CapeUK Cape first dated 1982 with a single 'First published' statement. Issued in glazed pictorial boards with a colour illustration to the upper cover by Quentin Blake; no dust jacket was issued. Dahl's first collection of verse for children. UK Cape true first (1982); US Knopf edition 1983. Later printings add a printing statement; the true first shows only the single 'First published 1982' line.
• The BFG — 1982 · Jonathan CapeTrue first states 'First published 1982' with no additional printing line on the copyright page; publisher's boards with gilt spine lettering and plain endpapers, in the first-issue Quentin Blake pictorial jacket with the original printed UK price (the printed price) to the front flap. UK Jonathan Cape 1982 is the true first; the US Farrar, Straus & Giroux edition is a later, separate issue. Quentin Blake illustrates throughout. Club editions typically bear a blind-stamp and lack the printed jacket price, and later printings state a reprint date; the FSG US edition is not the true first.
• Dirty Beasts — 1983 · Jonathan CapeUK Cape first, dated 1983, identified by the standard Cape copyright statement (First published followed by the date, later printings stated beneath). Issued in laminated pictorial boards without a dust jacket, so there is no jacket price to check. The 1983 first is illustrated by Rosemary Fawcett. UK Cape true first. Dahl disliked the Fawcett illustrations, and Cape reissued the book in 1984 illustrated by Quentin Blake; the Fawcett-illustrated 1983 printing is the collected first. A US Farrar, Straus and Giroux edition followed. The 1984 Quentin Blake illustrated version is a later, reset edition, not the first. Book-club printings are later issues.
• The Witches — 1983 · Jonathan CapeTrue first states 'First published 1983' only, with no reprint line; publisher's aquamarine boards with gilt spine lettering, in the first-issue Quentin Blake pictorial jacket with the original printed UK price (the printed price) to the front flap. Winner of the 1983 Whitbread Award for Children's Books. UK Jonathan Cape 1983 is the true first; the US Farrar, Straus & Giroux edition is later. Book-club copies typically carry a blind-stamp and lack the printed jacket price; later printings add a 'Reprinted 1983' or later printing statement.
• Boy: Tales of Childhood — 1984 · Jonathan CapeUK Cape first, dated 1984, identified by the standard Cape copyright statement (First published with the date, no later-printing line beneath). Issued in a dust jacket carrying the original UK price. Memoir. UK Cape true first; a US Farrar, Straus and Giroux edition also appeared in 1984 with its own First Edition statement and jacket price. Book-club editions are later issues and lack the original priced first-issue jacket.
• The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me — 1985 · Jonathan CapeUK Cape first, dated 1985, identified by the standard Cape copyright statement (First published with the date, later printings stated beneath). Issued in laminated pictorial boards with the price printed to the rear board and no dust jacket, so there is no first-issue jacket to check. Illustrated by Quentin Blake. UK Cape true first; a US Farrar, Straus and Giroux edition followed in 1985. Book-club printings are later issues.
• Going Solo — 1986 · Jonathan CapeUK Cape first, dated 1986, identified by the standard Cape copyright statement (First published with the date, no later-printing line beneath). Issued in a dust jacket carrying the original UK price. Memoir sequel to Boy. UK Cape true first; a US Farrar, Straus and Giroux edition also appeared in 1986 with its own First Edition statement and jacket price. Book-club editions are later issues and lack the original priced first-issue jacket.
• Matilda — 1988 · Jonathan CapeTrue first states only 'First published 1988' on the copyright page with no later-printing line; publisher's red cloth with gilt spine lettering, plain endpapers, in an unclipped dust jacket with its printed price to the front flap. Quentin Blake ink-and-wash drawings throughout. UK Jonathan Cape 1988 is the true first; the US Viking edition is a separate, later issue. Export copies may have a price-free jacket flap. Book-club copies typically carry a blind-stamp to a board, lack the printed price jacket price, and may add a printing line; the Viking US edition is not the true first.
• Rhyme Stew — 1989 · Jonathan CapeUK Cape first, dated 1989, identified by the standard Cape copyright statement (First published with the date, later printings stated beneath). Issued in a dust jacket carrying the original UK price. Illustrated by Quentin Blake. UK Cape true first; a US Viking edition followed in 1990, identified by a number line. Book-club editions are later issues and lack the original priced first-issue jacket.
• Esio Trot — 1990 · Jonathan CapeUK Cape first, dated 1990, identified by the standard Cape copyright statement (First published with the date, no later-printing line beneath). Issued in a dust jacket carrying the original UK price. Illustrated by Quentin Blake. UK Cape true first; a US Viking edition also appeared in 1990. This was the last book published in Dahl's lifetime; he died in November 1990. Book-club editions are later issues and lack the original priced first-issue jacket.
• The Minpins — 1991 · Jonathan CapeUK Jonathan Cape first, first impression, 1991, quarto, in publisher's illustrated boards with a pictorial first-issue dust jacket carrying the original UK price. Illustrated by Patrick Benson, not Quentin Blake. Published posthumously. UK Jonathan Cape edition is the true first; posthumous. Dahl's last children's story. Later and club printings lack the first-issue priced jacket.
• The Vicar of Nibbleswicke — 1991 · CenturyUK Century first published 1991 in publisher's cloth, illustrated by Quentin Blake, in a first-issue dust jacket carrying the original UK price. Published posthumously; Dahl and Blake donated rights to the Dyslexia Institute. UK Century edition is the true first; posthumous. A US Viking edition followed. Later and club printings lack the first-issue priced jacket.

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