# Is "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Harper & Brothers, 1932) is identified by: True first is illustrated by Helen Sewell (not Garth Williams), with black-and-white line drawings. US Harper & Brothers first, Sewell-illustrated, 1932.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is illustrated by Helen Sewell (not Garth Williams), with black-and-white line drawings
- Harper & Brothers copyright page; original 1932 date; first-issue dust jacket with the original printed price
- The 1953 Harper revised edition with Garth Williams illustrations is a later edition, not the first
- Publisher imprint reads Harper & Brothers
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Laura Ingalls Wilder |
| Publisher | Harper & Brothers |
| Year | 1932 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | True first is illustrated by Helen Sewell (not Garth Williams), with black-and-white line… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
True first is illustrated by Helen Sewell (not Garth Williams), with black-and-white line drawings. Harper & Brothers copyright page; original 1932 date; first-issue dust jacket with the original printed price. The 1953 Harper revised edition with Garth Williams illustrations is a later edition, not the first.

## Is this the true first?
US Harper & Brothers first, Sewell-illustrated, 1932. The 1953 Garth Williams edition is a later edition. Harper of this period used a two-letter month-year code on the copyright page and began stating First Edition, so verify the code alongside any First Edition statement.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Garth Williams illustrations indicate the 1953-or-later edition. Book-club printings and reprints lack the original code and the first-issue jacket price.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Little House in the Big Woods* by Laura Ingalls Wilder a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/little-house-in-the-big-woods
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.