Is My Charlotte's Web a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First printing carries the Harper code 'I-B' at the foot of the copyright page: in the Harper & Brothers code the first letter is the month (A=Jan... H=Aug, I=Sept, K=Oct — the letter J is skipped) and the second is the year (B=1952), so 'I-B' = September 1952. 'First Edition' is also stated on the copyright page above the code
• Because Harper could retain the 'First Edition' wording while advancing the code on later printings, the I-B code — not the words alone — is the reliable first-printing point
• First-issue dust jacket: price present on the front flap (later jackets carry a raised price) and the rear panel advertises E. B. White's earlier Stuart Little
• Garth Williams's pictorial jacket bears no Newbery seal (the book was named a Newbery Honor only in 1953, after publication)

How Harper & Brothers marked a first edition

• From 1922: also began printing 'First Edition' on the copyright page in addition to the code.
• Letter code discontinued after 1949; later Harper & Row used standard statements/number lines.

Full Harper & Brothers first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. 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.
4. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. 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.
6. 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 US Harper & Brothers edition (published October 15, 1952) is the true first. The UK Hamish Hamilton edition also appeared in 1952 but follows the American issue. Identify the first printing by the 'I-B' (September 1952) copyright-page code, not by the 'First Edition' slug alone.P-036619

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Book-club editions read 'Book Club Edition' on the front dust-jacket flap, carry NO two-letter Harper code on the copyright page, and show no price on the jacket; they are printed on bulkier, lower-grade paper and often bear the small blind-stamped dot on the rear board typical of club bindings.P-036620

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Charlotte's Web a first edition?

A first edition of Charlotte's Web by E. B. White (illus. Garth Williams) (Harper & Brothers) is identified by: First printing carries the Harper code 'I-B' at the foot of the copyright page: in the Harper & Brothers code the first letter is the month (A=Jan.

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 US Harper & Brothers edition (published October 15, 1952) is the true first.

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

Book-club editions read 'Book Club Edition' on the front dust-jacket flap, carry NO two-letter Harper code on the copyright page, and show no price on the jacket; they are printed on bulkier, lower-grade paper and often bear the small blind-stamped dot on the rear board typical of club bindings.

I have a first edition of Charlotte's Web — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

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.