Is My Many Moons a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Harcourt, Brace and Company imprint, copyright 1943
• The first printing is identified by a printer's code on the copyright page (a single capital letter sequence beginning with the earliest letter, used by Harcourt at this period), not by a 'First Edition' statement
• First-issue dust jacket carries no Caldecott seal (the medal was awarded in 1944) and bears a wartime war-bond advertisement on the rear jacket flap

How Harcourt, Brace and Company marked a first edition

• 1919-1921 (Harcourt, Brace & Howe): number '1' on copyright page = first printing, '2' = second, etc.
• 1921-1931: no statement on first printings; the first-edition notice (when later adopted) was simply absent, so rely on no later-printing notice.

Full Harcourt, Brace and Company 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?

The US true first is the 1943 Harcourt, Brace issue. A later edition was re-illustrated by Marc Simont (1990); that is a separate 'first thus' and is not the medal-winning first.P-013990

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later printings add the Caldecott medallion to the jacket. The Simont-illustrated edition is distinguishable by the different illustrator credit. Do not rely on a 'First Edition' statement to identify this title, as the original does not carry one.P-013991

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Many Moons a first edition?

A first edition of Many Moons by James Thurber (text); Louis Slobodkin (illustrations) (Harcourt, Brace and Company) is identified by: Harcourt, Brace and Company imprint, copyright 1943.

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. The US true first is the 1943 Harcourt, Brace issue.

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

Later printings add the Caldecott medallion to the jacket. The Simont-illustrated edition is distinguishable by the different illustrator credit. Do not rely on a 'First Edition' statement to identify this title, as the original does not carry one.

I have a first edition of Many Moons — 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.