# Is "Otto of the Silver Hand" by Howard Pyle a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Otto of the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle (Charles Scribner's Sons, 1888) is identified by: Written and illustrated entirely by Pyle, the first edition collates xiii, [i], 170, [4]pp plus 16pp of publisher's advertisements.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Written and illustrated entirely by Pyle, the first edition collates xiii, [i], 170, [4]pp plus 16pp of publisher's advertisements
- It includes a frontispiece titled 'In the Belfry' along with further full-page plates, decorative vignettes, and initials throughout the text
- The standard Pyle bibliography by Morse & Brinckle counts 26 full-page plates, 36 decorations, and 16 initials for the book, 78 illustrations in total, none previously published elsewhere
- The publisher's first-edition binding is half leather over pictorial cloth boards, most often described as green, lettered and decorated in gilt, red, black, and white
- Publisher imprint reads Charles Scribner's Sons
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Howard Pyle |
| Publisher | Charles Scribner's Sons |
| Year | 1888 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | Written and illustrated entirely by Pyle, the first edition collates xiii, [i], 170, [4]pp plus 16pp of publisher's advertisements |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Written and illustrated entirely by Pyle, the first edition collates xiii, [i], 170, [4]pp plus 16pp of publisher's advertisements. It includes a frontispiece titled 'In the Belfry' along with further full-page plates, decorative vignettes, and initials throughout the text. The standard Pyle bibliography by Morse & Brinckle counts 26 full-page plates, 36 decorations, and 16 initials for the book, 78 illustrations in total, none previously published elsewhere. The publisher's first-edition binding is half leather over pictorial cloth boards, most often described as green, lettered and decorated in gilt, red, black, and white.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A full blue-cloth binding stamped in silver and black is documented for later Scribner printings of Otto of the Silver Hand and should not be mistaken for the 1888 first-edition binding, which is half leather over pictorial green cloth.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Otto of the Silver Hand* by Howard Pyle a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/otto-of-the-silver-hand
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.