Is My Madeline's Rescue a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First printing: The Viking Press, New York, 1953, large quarto, [6], 7-56 pp., pictorial cloth with colour pictorial endpapers and pastedowns, in the priced colour pictorial dust jacket with the price present at the front flap
• The copyright page must carry the Viking first-edition statement — 'First published by The Viking Press in 1953' (dealers report it as 'First Published' stated on the copyright page) — with 1953 on the title page and NO notation of any subsequent printing
• Viking's practice of the period was to state the first publication and then add a 'Second printing'/'Third printing' line to reprints, so any such line disqualifies the copy
• The jacket point is chronological: the Caldecott Medal was awarded in 1954, after publication, so a gold Caldecott medal printed into the front panel indicates a later jacket; an applied foil seal proves nothing
• Caution on cloth: dealers describe the binding variously as red pictorial cloth, dark red cloth stamped in black, and (in one listing) grey cloth with a red-orange drawing — the descriptions conflict, so do not rely on cloth colour alone; the copyright-page statement is the point

How The Viking Press marked a first edition

• Earliest era (1925 to roughly 1937): Viking used no first-edition statement and instead noted later printings; treat the absence of any later-printing notice, with the title-page/copyright dates matching, as the first.
• From about 1937 onward: first printings state "First published by The Viking Press in [year]" or "Published by The Viking Press in [year]" with no later-printing notice; later printings were noted, and from the 1980s a n…

Full The Viking Press 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-only true first: The Viking Press, New York, April 1953 — the census claim is correct. The first British edition followed from Derek Verschoyle, London, 1953 (the same house had issued the London 'Madeline' in 1952); a later London issue under the André Deutsch/Derek Verschoyle imprint dated 1957 is catalogued by dealers as an early printing of the British edition and is not a first of the text. Bemelmans was an American author published from New York, and the Viking issue is the collected first. Inventory note carried from the census: only the 1939 'Madeline' is held, not this title. Later Viking, Puffin and Penguin reissues (e.g. ISBN 9780140566512) are reprints.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue for the 1953 Viking printing is documented in the dealer census consulted, and no list of its tells was located — do not assert one. The operative reprint tell is on the copyright page: Viking added a printing notation beneath the 'First published' statement on all later printings, and later reissues drop the Viking Press imprint for Viking/Puffin/Penguin.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Madeline's Rescue a first edition?

A first edition of Madeline's Rescue by Ludwig Bemelmans (The Viking Press) is identified by: First printing: The Viking Press, New York, 1953, large quarto, [6], 7-56 pp., pictorial cloth with colour pictorial endpapers and pastedowns, in the priced colour pictorial dust jacket with the price present at the front flap.

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-only true first: The Viking Press, New York, April 1953 — the census claim is correct.

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

No book-club issue for the 1953 Viking printing is documented in the dealer census consulted, and no list of its tells was located — do not assert one. The operative reprint tell is on the copyright page: Viking added a printing notation beneath the 'First published' statement on all later printings, and later reissues drop the Viking Press imprint for Viking/Puffin/Penguin.

I have a first edition of Madeline's Rescue — 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.