Is My Fantastic Mr Fox a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The 1970 George Allen & Unwin edition is illustrated by Donald Chaffin (not the later Tony Ross or Quentin Blake reissues) and uses the publisher's standard statement, 'First published in Great Britain in 1970,' with no later-printing line
• It was issued in laminated colour-pictorial glazed boards and WITHOUT a dust jacket, and the boards carry no printed price

How George Allen & Unwin marked a first edition

• First editions state "First published [Year]" or "First published in [Year]" on the copyright page (frequently with the printer named), later printings noted with added impression lines
• First printing = the 'First published' statement with NO subsequent-impression notation

Full George Allen & Unwin first-edition guide →

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 1970 Donald Chaffin-illustrated edition is the genuine first appearance of the text. Precedence between the UK George Allen & Unwin issue and the US Alfred A. Knopf issue (also 1970) is disputed among dealers — they were close to simultaneous, so neither can be flatly asserted as 'the' true first over the other. Later Tony Ross and Quentin Blake illustrated printings are reissues, not the first.P-026645

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Because the original was issued in pictorial boards without a dust jacket, jacket-price and jacket blind-stamp tests do NOT apply to this title; identification rests on the Chaffin illustrations and the single 'First published in Great Britain in 1970' statement. Later illustrator reissues (Ross, Blake) are decades-later printings.P-026646

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Fantastic Mr Fox a first edition?

A first edition of Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl (illus. Donald Chaffin) (George Allen & Unwin) is identified by: The 1970 George Allen & Unwin edition is illustrated by Donald Chaffin (not the later Tony Ross or Quentin Blake reissues) and uses the publisher's standard statement, 'First published in Great Britain in 1970,' with no later-printing line.

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 1970 Donald Chaffin-illustrated edition is the genuine first appearance of the text.

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

Because the original was issued in pictorial boards without a dust jacket, jacket-price and jacket blind-stamp tests do NOT apply to this title; identification rests on the Chaffin illustrations and the single 'First published in Great Britain in 1970' statement. Later illustrator reissues (Ross, Blake) are decades-later printings.

I have a first edition of Fantastic Mr Fox — 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.