Is My Copy of Ballet Shoes a First Edition?

The points of issue

• London: J. M. Dent & Sons, published 28 September 1936
• Octavo, pp. viii + 304, with a frontispiece, one plate and roughly thirty-five line drawings in the text by the author's sister Ruth Gervis
• Publisher's green cloth lettered in silver at the spine with a small silver-stamped decoration, and the publisher's green stain to the top edge
• The author's signed introduction, "About the Three in This Book," precedes chapter one
• Specialist dealer testimony records the original wrapper as a thin silver foil-like paper, likened to a chocolate wrapper, with surviving examples all but unknown; this wrapper point rests on dealer description rather than a formal bibliography and should be treated as such
• The author's first children's book and a runner-up for the inaugural Carnegie Medal

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. 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.
3. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
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 UK Dent 1936 edition is the true first. The first American edition (New York: Random House, 1937) is a separately collected book rather than a simple reprint: it was newly illustrated by Richard Floethe (nineteen illustrations plus title-page and jacket drawings), designed by Evelyn Harter, collates 303 pages, and states "Copyright, 1937, by Random House, Inc." Both editions are collected; the Dent holds priority and the Random House is the American first only.P-044139

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The first printing sold out almost immediately after 28 September 1936 and Dent reprinted quickly; later printings are identified by their jackets, which state the printing. Auction records catalogue first-edition sheets housed in a "third printing" dust-jacket — the married later-jacket copy is the standing trap for this title. Later Dent, Puffin, Collins and the American Diane Goode-illustrated reissues are plain reprints. No dedicated book-club issue of the 1936 Dent first is documented in the sources consulted.P-044140

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Ballet Shoes a first edition?

A first edition of Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild (J. M. Dent & Sons) is identified by: London: J. M. Dent & Sons, published 28 September 1936.

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 UK Dent 1936 edition is the true first.

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

The first printing sold out almost immediately after 28 September 1936 and Dent reprinted quickly; later printings are identified by their jackets, which state the printing. Auction records catalogue first-edition sheets housed in a "third printing" dust-jacket — the married later-jacket copy is the standing trap for this title. Later Dent, Puffin, Collins and the American Diane Goode-illustrated reissues are plain reprints.

I have a first edition of Ballet Shoes — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.