Is My Heidi a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Louise Winsor Brooks's translation, titled Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning -- A Story for Children and Those Who Love Children, was published in Boston by DeWolfe, Fiske & Co. in 1884 and copyrighted that year in Brooks's own name rather than the publisher's, unusual for the period
• It combined both halves of Spyri's originally separately published Swiss-German novel (Heidis Lehr- und Wanderjahre, 1880, and its 1881 sequel) into a single translated English text and is generally treated as the first American translation of the book
• Brooks was one of at least thirteen translators to render Heidi into English between 1882 and 1959, so the specific title wording together with the DeWolfe, Fiske Boston imprint and 1884 copyright date are what identify this particular first edition rather than a later reprint or a competing translator's version

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

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 American 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?

Translated from German. Brooks's is the first American translation and the first to unite both German volumes into a single English text, but it is not the earliest English rendering: an anonymous translation was issued in London by W. Swan Sonnenschein in two separate volumes, Heidi's Early Experiences (c.1882) and Heidi's Further Experiences (c.1884), split across two English volumes rather than combined and predating Brooks by roughly two years. The Sonnenschein volumes are extremely scarce and their translator has never been identified.P-035380

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The Brooks translation was itself reissued under other Boston imprints, including Cupples, Upham & Co. in 1885-86, and was soon followed by competing re-translations from other publishers; most Heidi copies found today are one of these later reprints or an entirely different translator's version, not the 1884 DeWolfe, Fiske first-edition text, copyright date, and imprint.P-035381

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Heidi a first edition?

A first edition of Heidi by Johanna Spyri; translated by Louise Brooks (DeWolfe, Fiske & Co.) is identified by: Louise Winsor Brooks's translation, titled Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning -- A Story for Children and Those Who Love Children, was published in Boston by DeWolfe, Fiske & Co.

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. Translated from German.

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

The Brooks translation was itself reissued under other Boston imprints, including Cupples, Upham & Co. in 1885-86, and was soon followed by competing re-translations from other publishers; most Heidi copies found today are one of these later reprints or an entirely different translator's version, not the 1884 DeWolfe, Fiske first-edition text, copyright date, and imprint.

I have a first edition of Heidi — 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.