Is My Misty of Chincoteague a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing is identified on the copyright page by the statement "Edition of 1947" accompanied by the letter "A"; one ABAA-listed dealer states the point flatly as "Edition 1947 and A on the copyright page." The binding is light blue cloth stamped in yellow on spine and front cover, with color pictorial endpapers of a pony crossing a marsh, a color pictorial title page, and black-and-white illustrations throughout by Wesley Dennis; the book measures roughly 9.5 x 6.75 inches and collates to 173/174 pages
• The dust jacket is color pictorial and should be unclipped with the price present at the front flap
• The Rand McNally "Edition of [year]" convention is independently corroborated by later copies stated "Edition of 1953" on the copyright page

How Rand McNally & Company marked a first edition

• Elf Books (c.1947–1986): these low-priced books (a Little Golden Books competitor) do not carry a reliable explicit first-printing statement. Date a copy by examining the title and copyright page together with the catalo…

Full Rand McNally & 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?

US edition is the true first: Rand McNally & Company, Chicago, 1947 — the census claim is confirmed. No prior serialization or foreign-language appearance is documented, and no simultaneous UK issue is documented; British editions followed later and are reprints of the American text, not co-firsts. The book was a 1948 Newbery Honor, which post-dates publication.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later Rand McNally printings state a later year in the same slot ("Edition of 1948," "Edition of 1953," etc.) and lack the "A" — the single most reliable reprint tell. Later Scholastic and Aladdin/Simon & Schuster paperback and hardcover issues are reprints of the text and are not the first in any sense. No distinct blind-stamped book-club issue of the 1947 Rand McNally is documented in the sources consulted.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Misty of Chincoteague a first edition?

A first edition of Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry (illus. Wesley Dennis) (Rand McNally & Company) is identified by: The first printing is identified on the copyright page by the statement "Edition of 1947" accompanied by the letter "A"; one ABAA-listed dealer states the point flatly as "Edition 1947 and A on the copyright page." The binding is light blue cloth stamped in yellow on spine and front cover, with color pictorial endpapers of a pony crossing a marsh, a color pictorial title page, and black-and-white illustrations throughout by Wesley Dennis; the book measures roughly 9.5…

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 edition is the true first: Rand McNally & Company, Chicago, 1947 — the census claim is confirmed.

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

Later Rand McNally printings state a later year in the same slot ("Edition of 1948," "Edition of 1953," etc.) and lack the "A" — the single most reliable reprint tell. Later Scholastic and Aladdin/Simon & Schuster paperback and hardcover issues are reprints of the text and are not the first in any sense. No distinct blind-stamped book-club issue of the 1947 Rand McNally is documented in the sources consulted.

I have a first edition of Misty of Chincoteague — 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.