Is My Copy of Five on a Treasure Island (Famous Five #1) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First published London, August 1942, collating 191 + i pp., illustrated by Eileen A. Soper with line drawings throughout and 32 full-page monochrome illustrations
• The first edition is bound in publisher's light/powder blue cloth, blocked and lettered in black to the upper board and spine, in Soper's pictorial dust wrapper with the price present at the front flap (unclipped jackets are preferred; a clipped flap removes the point)
• The standard reference is Tony Summerfield, Enid Blyton: An Illustrated Bibliography, Part 1, p. 58, which dealers cite for the collation
• A wartime production tell supports the date: the text block is printed on poor wartime stock under paper rationing and is characteristically toned
• One dealer reports that the correct first-issue wrapper has wider flaps than later ones — this is single-sourced and should not be relied on without corroboration
• The dust wrapper is the fragile element and the usual point of failure; the jacket, not the book, is what is scarce

How Hodder & Stoughton marked a first edition

• 1940s onward: may state "First Printed [Year]" on firsts and note subsequent printings (transitional, not universal)

Full Hodder & Stoughton 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 UK 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?

UK Hodder & Stoughton, London, August 1942 is the true first. There is no competing US or other-language edition of the first Famous Five title from 1942 — Blyton is a British publishing phenomenon and her firsts are British imprints, so no UK-vs-US precedence question arises here. Blyton is the best-selling children's author in British history, and this is the foundation title of the series.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition documented in the sources consulted. The reprint field is the real hazard, because the title has been reissued continuously by several houses under different imprints — documented reprints include Hodder & Stoughton (1951), Knight (1967, 1969, 1970), Brockhampton (1974) and Longmans (1977), and later Hodder issues carry revised/updated text and non-Soper artwork. Any imprint other than Hodder & Stoughton is automatically a reprint; a Hodder copy must match the 1942 collation, the Soper illustrations and the blue cloth blocked in black.P-044126

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Five on a Treasure Island (Famous Five #1) a first edition?

A first edition of Five on a Treasure Island (Famous Five #1) by Enid Blyton (Hodder & Stoughton) is identified by: First published London, August 1942, collating 191 + i pp., illustrated by Eileen A. Soper with line drawings throughout and 32 full-page monochrome illustrations.

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. UK Hodder & Stoughton, London, August 1942 is the true first.

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

No book-club edition documented in the sources consulted. The reprint field is the real hazard, because the title has been reissued continuously by several houses under different imprints — documented reprints include Hodder & Stoughton (1951), Knight (1967, 1969, 1970), Brockhampton (1974) and Longmans (1977), and later Hodder issues carry revised/updated text and non-Soper artwork.

I have a first edition of Five on a Treasure Island (Famous Five #1) — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.