Is My My Father's Dragon a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Random House, New York, 1948; small, thin octavo, 87 pages, with grey-scale drawings by the author's stepmother Ruth Chrisman Gannett and color map endpapers
• Binding: yellow pictorial cloth boards stamped in dark green
• First-printing test on the copyright page: the 1948 date with the note of simultaneous publication in the United States and Canada, no statement of any later printing, and no Library of Congress number or ISBN. Jacket point: the first-issue jacket makes no mention of the Newbery Honor, which the book won in 1949 — later printings and reprint jackets advertise it, so a jacket touting the Honor is not a first (Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, corroborated by other dealer collations)
• Priced jacket, price present at the flap; surviving jackets are frequently price-clipped
• One caveat to weigh at the shelf: the standard publisher guides say Random House states 'First Edition' on first printings and does not mark later ones, whereas dealers in this title identify the first by the absence of a printing statement plus the jacket point — examine both

How Random House marked a first edition

• Stated-edition era (c.1936–1975): trade first printings are plainly marked with the words 'First Edition' (or, on some earlier titles, 'First Printing') on the copyright page, with NO number line yet in use; a copyright…
• Divisional practice — share the STATEMENT, not the '2'-line: sister divisions state 'First Edition' as their firsts (Alfred A. Knopf consistently since 1933–34; Pantheon since 1964), so the words work across the family.…

Full Random House 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 — Random House, New York, 1948. There is no earlier UK or foreign-language edition; Gannett was American and Random House published first, with British and other editions following. The two sequels have their own Random House, New York firsts: Elmer and the Dragon (1950) and The Dragons of Blueland (1951). Omnibus 'Three Tales of My Father's Dragon' volumes are firsts thus, not firsts.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Book-club and school-club issues are the documented trap: check for a club blind stamp or code on the rear board and reject Junior Literary Guild, Weekly Reader and Parents' Magazine club printings, none of which are the trade first. Modern Random House reprints state the printing with a number line and carry an ISBN. All later Random House hardcovers keep the 1948 copyright date, so the date is not a point.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of My Father's Dragon a first edition?

A first edition of My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett (illus. Ruth Chrisman Gannett) (Random House) is identified by: Random House, New York, 1948; small, thin octavo, 87 pages, with grey-scale drawings by the author's stepmother Ruth Chrisman Gannett and color map endpapers.

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 — Random House, New York, 1948.

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

Book-club and school-club issues are the documented trap: check for a club blind stamp or code on the rear board and reject Junior Literary Guild, Weekly Reader and Parents' Magazine club printings, none of which are the trade first. Modern Random House reprints state the printing with a number line and carry an ISBN. All later Random House hardcovers keep the 1948 copyright date, so the date is not a point.

I have a first edition of My Father's Dragon — 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.