Is My Copy of Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Houghton Mifflin's house practice of the period is the identifying method, and it is negative rather than stated: the date 1939 appears in arabic numerals on the title page of first printings and is removed on subsequent printings, and the copyright page carries no later-printing statement and no later date (Houghton Mifflin only began consistently printing a 'first printing' statement in the late 1950s)
• Format is oblong quarto (roughly 9 x 8 in.) in publisher's pictorial cloth stamped in red and black, with illustrated endpapers; dealers describe the cloth variously as tan, wheat, or grey, so cloth shade is not a reliable printing point
• The pictorial red jacket is where the issue work is done: the early jacket carries an advertisement for Burton's Choo Choo at the rear inner flap, shows no author credit on the spine panel, and has 'H.M.Co.' on a yellow ground at the spine
• First-issue jackets have the original (lowest) price present at the front flap, unclipped; a later-issue jacket on an otherwise-1939 book shows a higher flap price
• Price-clipped jackets cannot be placed on that point

How Houghton Mifflin marked a first edition

• Late-19th to mid-20th century (c.1880s–1950s): the operative tell is the title page. Houghton Mifflin almost invariably printed the year of first publication, in Arabic numerals, on the title page of a first printing…
• Transitional years (roughly late 1930s–1950s): practice is less uniform before the formal statement settled in. Continue to rely on the matching title-page/copyright-page date and the absence of any printing-history…

Full Houghton Mifflin 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 true first confirmed: Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1939, and it is the sole first — no earlier or simultaneous British or foreign-language edition is documented in the sources consulted, and non-US editions are later. The true first is US-only; there is no UK-vs-US precedence question for this title.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No 1939-era book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted. The routine confusions are (a) later Houghton Mifflin printings, told by removal of the 1939 date from the title page and/or a later-printing notice on the copyright page — dealers catalogue printings well into the twenties; (b) Scholastic and similar paperback reprints from the 1970s onward, which carry ISBNs; and (c) a first-printing book wearing a later-issue jacket, which the higher flap price and jacket state reveal. The acknowledgement to Dickie Birkenbush appears in early and later printings alike and should not be treated as a first-printing point.P-038930

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel a first edition?

A first edition of Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton (Houghton Mifflin) is identified by: Houghton Mifflin's house practice of the period is the identifying method, and it is negative rather than stated: the date 1939 appears in arabic numerals on the title page of first printings and is removed on subsequent printings, and the copyright page carries no later-printing statement and no later date (Houghton Mifflin only began consistently printing a 'first printing' statement in the late 1950s).

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 true first confirmed: Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1939, and it is the sole first — no earlier or simultaneous British or foreign-language edition is documented in the sources consulted, and non-US editions are later.

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

No 1939-era book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted. The routine confusions are (a) later Houghton Mifflin printings, told by removal of the 1939 date from the title page and/or a later-printing notice on the copyright page — dealers catalogue printings well into the twenties; (b) Scholastic and similar paperback reprints from the 1970s onward, which carry ISBNs; and (c) a first-printing book wearing a later-issue jacket, which the higher flap price and jacket state reveal.

I have a first edition of Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.