# Is "Between Planets" by Robert A. Heinlein a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Between Planets by Robert A. Heinlein (Charles Scribner's Sons, 1951) is identified by: Scribner's first printing carries the letter 'A' on the copyright page together with the Scribner seal; illustrated by Clifford N. US Scribner's first edition is the true first; magazine serialization (in Blue Book, 1951) precedes the book but does not affect first-edition status of the hardcover.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Scribner's first printing carries the letter 'A' on the copyright page together with the Scribner seal; illustrated by Clifford N. Geary
- The first-issue dust jacket should retain its printed front-flap price and lists on the rear panel only the four preceding Heinlein Scribner juveniles (Rocket Ship Galileo, Space Cadet, Red Planet and Farmer in the Sky), with no later titles
- Absence of the 'A', or added printing designations, indicates a later printing
- Publisher imprint reads Charles Scribner's Sons
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert A. Heinlein |
| Publisher | Charles Scribner's Sons |
| Year | 1951 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Scribner's first printing carries the letter 'A' on the copyright page together with the Scribner seal; illustrated by Clifford N. Geary |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Scribner's first printing carries the letter 'A' on the copyright page together with the Scribner seal; illustrated by Clifford N. Geary. The first-issue dust jacket should retain its printed front-flap price and lists on the rear panel only the four preceding Heinlein Scribner juveniles (Rocket Ship Galileo, Space Cadet, Red Planet and Farmer in the Sky), with no later titles. Absence of the 'A', or added printing designations, indicates a later printing.

## Is this the true first?
US Scribner's first edition is the true first; magazine serialization (in Blue Book, 1951) precedes the book but does not affect first-edition status of the hardcover.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings lack the 'A' and seal combination, and reprint jackets list Heinlein titles published after 1951 on the rear panel; the four-title rear-panel list plus the 'A'/seal marks the true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Between Planets* by Robert A. Heinlein a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/between-planets
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.