Is My Sara Crewe, or What Happened at Miss Minchin's a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Nicholas Magazine from December 1887 through February 1888, the story was then issued in book form on 29 February 1888
• The first edition collates 83 numbered pages plus a 16-page 'Scribner's Books for the Young' catalogue at the rear, illustrated with six full-page illustrations by Reginald B. Birch
• Dealers distinguish two states of this catalogue, corresponding to BAL (Bibliography of American Literature) 2067A and 2067B: the earlier state advertises Little Lord Fauntleroy at 'Fortieth Thousand' and is generally bound in gray (sometimes described as blue-grey) pictorial cloth, while the later state advertises it at 'Forty-Third Thousand' and is bound in brown pictorial cloth, both lettered and decorated in gilt, black and red

How Charles Scribner's Sons marked a first edition

• Pre-1930: Scribner seal/device plus month-and-year of publication on copyright page; first printings either carry matching dates on title page and copyright page or show no later printings noted.

Full Charles Scribner's Sons 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. 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.
5. 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?

Book publication on 29 February 1888 came right on the heels of the St. Nicholas Magazine serialization, which had run from December 1887 through February 1888. Burnett later expanded this novella into the full-length A Little Princess (Scribner's, 1905), a different, much longer book that should not be confused with the 1888 first edition.P-035338

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Scribner's 1889 printing is bound in green cloth and carries only 14 pages of advertisements at the rear (versus 16 in the true 1888 first edition) -- a useful quick check for separating the first edition from this early reprint.P-035339

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Sara Crewe, or What Happened at Miss Minchin's a first edition?

A first edition of Sara Crewe, or What Happened at Miss Minchin's by Frances Hodgson Burnett (Charles Scribner's Sons) is identified by: Nicholas Magazine from December 1887 through February 1888, the story was then issued in book form on 29 February 1888.

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. Book publication on 29 February 1888 came right on the heels of the St.

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

Scribner's 1889 printing is bound in green cloth and carries only 14 pages of advertisements at the rear (versus 16 in the true 1888 first edition) -- a useful quick check for separating the first edition from this early reprint.

I have a first edition of Sara Crewe, or What Happened at Miss Minchin's — 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.