# Is "Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates" by Mary Mapes Dodge a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge (James O'Kane, 1865) is identified by: First published in 1865, though the first-edition title page is postdated 1866, a common period practice for books issued late in the calendar year.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First published in 1865, though the first-edition title page is postdated 1866, a common period practice for books issued late in the calendar year
- The first edition collates to 347pp plus 4pp of publisher's advertisements printed in black and red, with a frontispiece by F. O. C. Darley and additional plates by Thomas Nast
- Jacob Blanck notes in the Bibliography of American Literature (BAL 4753) that Nast's plates were bound in without regard to the positions indicated for them on the Contents leaf
- Original cloth is recorded in five different colors, with either one or two leaves of advertisements; neither variation has established priority
- Publisher imprint reads James O'Kane
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Mary Mapes Dodge |
| Publisher | James O'Kane |
| Year | 1865 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | First published in 1865, though the first-edition title page is postdated 1866, a common period practice for books issued late in the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First published in 1865, though the first-edition title page is postdated 1866, a common period practice for books issued late in the calendar year. The first edition collates to 347pp plus 4pp of publisher's advertisements printed in black and red, with a frontispiece by F. O. C. Darley and additional plates by Thomas Nast. Jacob Blanck notes in the Bibliography of American Literature (BAL 4753) that Nast's plates were bound in without regard to the positions indicated for them on the Contents leaf. Original cloth is recorded in five different colors, with either one or two leaves of advertisements; neither variation has established priority.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates* by Mary Mapes Dodge a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/hans-brinker-or-the-silver-skates
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.