Is My Frederick a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Pantheon, New York, 1967
• The copyright page of the first printing carries seven lines, opening "© Copyright, 1967, by Leo Lionni" and including the Library of Congress card number "AC 66-10355"
• Boards are white/ivory cloth (ivory per Bauman, white per the Children's Picturebook Price Guide), the front board bearing a small frontal image of Frederick and the rear board a small image of Frederick from behind; printed endpapers
• The jacket should be present and priced (price present at the front flap, unclipped); the rear jacket panel of the first printing lacks the Library of Congress card number, and the rear flap carries a short Lionni biography followed by reviews of Swimmy and Tico and the Golden Wings
• A copy whose rear jacket panel bears the LC card number, or whose copyright page departs from the seven-line setting, does not match the first-printing description
• Note: a "9/66" jacket flap code circulates in search-engine summaries of this title but does not appear in the Children's Picturebook Price Guide entry itself and is not treated as a point here

How Pantheon marked a first edition

• A true first has both the 'First Edition' statement and the 1 present; reprints drop 'First Edition' and/or the 1.
• Earlier Pantheon (pre-RH, founded 1942): identification by absence of additional printings and by stated 'First Edition' / 'First Printing' where present.

Full Pantheon 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 precedes. Pantheon, New York, 1967 is the true first; a 1968 Caldecott Honor Book and a New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book for 1967. Lionni followed his editor Fabio Coen from Obolensky to Pantheon, which is why the titles from Swimmy (1963) onward are Pantheon rather than Obolensky/Astor books. German-language editions — Frederick is heavily collected in Germany — are translations postdating the New York first, not the original. Later Knopf and Dragonfly Books reissues are reprints.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue documented in the sources consulted for this title. The Children's Picturebook Price Guide entry does not distinguish later printings beyond the copyright-page and jacket points above, so identification rests on the seven-line copyright page with "AC 66-10355", the white/ivory boards with the two small Frederick images, and a rear jacket panel free of the LC card number. Later Knopf/Dragonfly reissues and the Scholastic printings are reprints.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Frederick a first edition?

A first edition of Frederick by Leo Lionni (Pantheon) is identified by: Pantheon, New York, 1967.

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 precedes.

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

No book-club issue documented in the sources consulted for this title. The Children's Picturebook Price Guide entry does not distinguish later printings beyond the copyright-page and jacket points above, so identification rests on the seven-line copyright page with "AC 66-10355", the white/ivory boards with the two small Frederick images, and a rear jacket panel free of the LC card number. Later Knopf/Dragonfly reissues and the Scholastic printings are reprints.

I have a first edition of Frederick — 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.