2 William Steig first editions are documented on this shelf, from Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (1969) to Shrek! (1990) across 2 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that William Steig title from later printings and book-club copies — the publisher and year to expect, the number-line or edition-statement conventions, and the tells that show up in online listings.

Identification only, per the house rule: no prices and no appraisals here. Checking a William Steig copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble — 1969 · Windmill Books / Simon & SchusterFirst edition, first printing: Windmill Books/Simon & Schuster 1969, with 'First Printing' stated on the copyright page. Bound in green cloth with the spine stamped in black. The first-issue color pictorial dust jacket carries Steig's own art and, crucially, does NOT show the Caldecott Medal (the book won the medal in 1970); the printed price should be present on the front flap, and the code '6010' appears at the…. The US Windmill/Simon & Schuster printing is the true first. The pre-Caldecott jacket with no medal, the 'First Printing' copyright statement, green cloth stamped black, and the '6010' front-flap code together define a first issue; relaunch jackets added the medal after 1970. Book-club editions add the Caldecott Medal to the jacket, drop the printed price, are typically smaller, and carry a blind-stamped indentation on the rear board.
Shrek! — 1990 · Farrar, Straus & Giroux / Michael di Capua BooksFirst printing states 'first edition' on the copyright page, given as 'First edition, 1990' with no later printings listed; multiple dealers confirm the statement independently ('a fine first edition (so stated on the copyright page)'). This matches Farrar, Straus & Giroux house practice, which per Quill & Brush states either 'First published (Year),' 'First printing (Year),' or 'First edition (Year)' on the…. US Farrar, Straus & Giroux (Michael di Capua Books), New York, 1990 is the true first. Corroborated from the UK side: a UK dealer (John Atkinson Books, ABA/ILAB/PBFA) catalogues the 1990 FSG issue as the US first edition rather than claiming UK precedence. No UK edition preceding the US has been identified; the US edition is the one collected. No book-club edition documented in the sources consulted. Because the book carries no jacket, the usual club tells (blind stamp to rear board, absent price, cheaper bulk) do not apply in the normal way. The reliable tells are the copyright-page statement and the printed back-cover price. Note the trap created by the 2001 DreamWorks film: film-era reissues and movie tie-ins are reprints, and the absence of a….

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