Is My Fifteen a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Morrow first edition, an octavo of 254 pages, bound in the publisher's pink cloth with black decoration and lettering on the spine and boards
• The title page and copyright page both carry the 1956 date with no statement of a later printing
• The first-issue dust jacket bears the illustration by Beth and Joe Krush and carries the original printed price on the front flap; the price should be present, though a price-clipped example does not by itself indicate a later state
• Cleary's early young-adult romance, scarce in the jacket

How William Morrow marked a first edition

• 1922–c.1962 (Harper & Brothers, stated-first era): from 1922 Harper & Brothers began printing the words 'First Edition' on the copyright page. IMPORTANT: the letter printing code did NOT stop in 1922 — it continued to ap…
• Reading the year code (the central trap): the year sequence begins M=1912 and runs forward through the alphabet — M=1912, N=1913, O=1914 … Z=1925, A=1926, B=1927 … L=1936. In 1937 the alphabet is RECYCLED: it restarts at…

Full William Morrow 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?

US Morrow first edition, New York, 1956; no earlier or precedent edition.P-003015

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Book-club and later Morrow printings lack the original printed jacket price and typically show reprint indications rather than the clean 1956-dated copyright page.P-003016

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Fifteen a first edition?

A first edition of Fifteen by Beverly Cleary (William Morrow) is identified by: Morrow first edition, an octavo of 254 pages, bound in the publisher's pink cloth with black decoration and lettering on the spine and boards.

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. US Morrow first edition, New York, 1956; no earlier or precedent edition.

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

Book-club and later Morrow printings lack the original printed jacket price and typically show reprint indications rather than the clean 1956-dated copyright page.

I have a first edition of Fifteen — 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.