Is My Eloise a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first printing: Simon and Schuster, New York, 1955, full title 'Eloise: A Book for Precocious Grown Ups'
• The copyright page carries the address line 'NEW YORK 20, N.Y.', then the words 'FIRST PRINTING', then 'LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER: 55-11039'; all three lines must be present
• The decisive first-state text point is on page 50, where Eloise says her mother knows Lily Dache; in subsequent printings the name was changed to Coco Chanel, so a copy reading 'Coco Chanel' at page 50 is not a first printing whatever its copyright page says
• Bound in publisher's cream cloth with the Hilary Knight drawing of Eloise stamped on the front board in black and lettering in black and maroon
• The first-issue jacket is a priced jacket with the price present at the front flap - price-clipping removes that point, and the page-50 reading then does the work

How Simon and Schuster marked a first edition

• CROSS-CHECK across all number-line eras: A 1-bearing number line is frequently paired with a spelled-out first-issue statement (which may read 'First Printing' OR 'First Edition' — both occur at S&S). When a positive sta…

Full Simon and Schuster 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 American 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 census claim that Simon & Schuster, New York, 1955 is the true first is upheld; Eloise is an American book by an American author and illustrator, and the US edition is the collected one. The census's further claim that 'early printings differ in jacket subtitle text' is NOT supported by any source consulted and should not be relied on - it appears to be a garbling of the genuine page-50 Lily Dache / Coco Chanel text point, which is the real early-printing variant. No UK first-edition details were confirmed in this pass, and no source consulted treats a UK issue as collected alongside the American first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No Eloise book-club issue was documented in the sources consulted. Later printings reuse the same cream-cloth binding and the same Hilary Knight jacket art, so the binding is worthless as a printing test; use the copyright page 'FIRST PRINTING' line together with the page-50 reading, and treat either one alone as insufficient. Signed copies inscribed by Thompson and Knight on the front free endpaper are recorded on first printings but signature is not itself an edition point.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Eloise a first edition?

A first edition of Eloise by Kay Thompson (illustrated by Hilary Knight) (Simon and Schuster) is identified by: First edition, first printing: Simon and Schuster, New York, 1955, full title 'Eloise: A Book for Precocious Grown Ups'.

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 census claim that Simon & Schuster, New York, 1955 is the true first is upheld; Eloise is an American book by an American author and illustrator, and the US edition is the collected one.

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

No Eloise book-club issue was documented in the sources consulted. Later printings reuse the same cream-cloth binding and the same Hilary Knight jacket art, so the binding is worthless as a printing test; use the copyright page 'FIRST PRINTING' line together with the page-50 reading, and treat either one alone as insufficient. Signed copies inscribed by Thompson and Knight on the front free endpaper are recorded on first printings but signature is not itself an edition point.

I have a first edition of Eloise — 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.