# Is "Miss Hickory" by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey (The Viking Press, 1946) is identified by: First edition 1946, Viking (New York), issued September 1946. US true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition 1946, Viking (New York), issued September 1946
- The first printing carries the published-1946 statement on the copyright page with no later printings listed
- Lithographs by Ruth Chrisman Gannett; cream cloth with orange lettering and motif, top edge stained orange
- First-issue jacket bears no Newbery Medal seal
- Publisher imprint reads The Viking Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Carolyn Sherwin Bailey |
| Publisher | The Viking Press |
| Year | 1946 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | First edition 1946, Viking (New York), issued September 1946 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition 1946, Viking (New York), issued September 1946. The first printing carries the published-1946 statement on the copyright page with no later printings listed. Lithographs by Ruth Chrisman Gannett; cream cloth with orange lettering and motif, top edge stained orange. First-issue jacket bears no Newbery Medal seal.

## Is this the true first?
US true first. Awarded the Newbery Medal in 1947. A Junior Literary Guild edition appeared in 1946 as a separate variant; the Viking trade issue is the collected first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Viking later printings list additional printings on the verso, and later jackets add the Newbery seal.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Miss Hickory* by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/miss-hickory
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.