Is My Copy of Ozma of Oz a First Edition?

The points of issue

• No edition statement appears; identification rests on state points alone
• First printing has the full-colour illustration on page 221 printed in colour — it appears in black and white in slightly later printings from roughly 1911 — and uses colour text illustrations worked into the letterpress rather than inserted colour plates
• First binding is light tan cloth over boards, stamped in red, black, yellow and blue, with the publisher's name at the spine tail reading "The Reilly & Britton Co."; the retained "Co." after the name is the first-binding point
• Full-colour pictorial endpapers are present (blank in later editions)
• Rear advertisements offer only two other Baum titles, The Land of Oz and John Dough and the Cherub
• Two points are disputed and should not be relied on alone: sources conflict on the much-cited "O" in "Ozma" — some place it at page 11 in the Author's Note with the "O" present on the earliest copies, others at page 111 line 5 with the "O" absent — and the Bibliographia Oziana page cited differs between sources (38 vs 50); the leaves at 135/136 and 153/154 are described as cancels by one dealer and as integral by another

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

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 original: Chicago: The Reilly & Britton Co., 1907, illustrated by John R. Neill — the third Oz book. Baum wrote in English for an American publisher, so there is no competing UK or original-language edition with precedence, and no simultaneous transatlantic issue is at stake.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book club edition is involved at this date. The dominant reprint tell is the imprint: Reilly & Britton became Reilly & Lee in 1919, so any copy bearing the Reilly & Lee imprint is a later printing regardless of the 1907 copyright date carried over on the page. Within the Reilly & Britton period, later printings lose the colour on page 221 (black and white from about 1911) and the colour pictorial endpapers go blank. Copies offered as "first edition, later colour state" are common — the state, not the date on the copyright page, decides.P-042693

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Ozma of Oz a first edition?

A first edition of Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum (The Reilly & Britton Co.) is identified by: No edition statement appears; identification rests on state points alone.

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 original: Chicago: The Reilly & Britton Co., 1907, illustrated by John R. Neill — the third Oz book.

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

No book club edition is involved at this date. The dominant reprint tell is the imprint: Reilly & Britton became Reilly & Lee in 1919, so any copy bearing the Reilly & Lee imprint is a later printing regardless of the 1907 copyright date carried over on the page. Within the Reilly & Britton period, later printings lose the colour on page 221 (black and white from about 1911) and the colour pictorial endpapers go blank.

I have a first edition of Ozma of Oz — 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.