Is My Five Little Peppers and How They Grew a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Serialized in the children's magazine Wide Awake in 1880, then issued in book form that same year by D. Lothrop and Company of Boston, running to 410 pages
• A key textual first-edition point occurs in the caption to the illustration on page 231, which reads 'said Polly' in the true first edition rather than 'said Phronsie' as corrected in later printings
• First-edition copies also have the ampersand in the publisher's cover monogram stamped in gold and carry rear advertisements with no mention of a reader contest, both features altered in subsequent printings

How D. Lothrop and Company marked a first edition

• 1868-c.1887 (D. Lothrop & Co.): no printed edition statement; a juvenile, religious, and gift-book house. First printing by title-page date matching copyright date and the earliest-dated bound-in catalogue; many juvenile…
• c.1887-1892 (D. Lothrop Company): same no-statement practice. Daniel Lothrop died in March 1892.

Full D. Lothrop and Company 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. 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 book is commonly cited as 1881, which is the date later Lothrop printings carry on the copyright page, but the true first edition/first printing has a copyright page dated 1880, consistent with its Wide Awake serialization and D. Lothrop's practice of rushing holiday juveniles into print before year's end.P-035395

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later Lothrop printings show 1881 rather than 1880 on the copyright page, read 'said Phronsie' rather than 'said Polly' in the page-231 caption, and add rear advertising for a reader contest that first-edition copies lack.P-035396

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Five Little Peppers and How They Grew a first edition?

A first edition of Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney (Harriett Mulford Stone Lothrop) (D. Lothrop and Company) is identified by: Serialized in the children's magazine Wide Awake in 1880, then issued in book form that same year by D.

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 book is commonly cited as 1881, which is the date later Lothrop printings carry on the copyright page, but the true first edition/first printing has a copyright page dated 1880, consistent with its Wide Awake serialization and D.

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

Later Lothrop printings show 1881 rather than 1880 on the copyright page, read 'said Phronsie' rather than 'said Polly' in the page-231 caption, and add rear advertising for a reader contest that first-edition copies lack.

I have a first edition of Five Little Peppers and How They Grew — 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.