Is My Shrek! a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First printing states 'first edition' on the copyright page, given as 'First edition, 1990' with no later printings listed; multiple dealers confirm the statement independently ('a fine first edition (so stated on the copyright page)')
• This matches Farrar, Straus & Giroux house practice, which per Quill & Brush states either 'First published (Year),' 'First printing (Year),' or 'First edition (Year)' on the copyright page
• IMPORTANT ISSUE POINT: the book was issued WITHOUT a dust jacket — there is no jacket for this title, and any copy offered 'in dust jacket' is misdescribed
• Bound in glossy pictorial boards; olive green endpapers reported
• The publisher's printed price is present at the lower left corner of the back cover; because there is no jacket, this printed price cannot be clipped, and its presence and position are part of the first-printing description
• Imprint reads 'MICHAEL DI CAPUA BOOKS / FARRAR STRAUS & GIROUX'

How Farrar, Straus & Giroux / Michael di Capua Books marked a first edition

• ERA 1 - Farrar, Straus and Company (founding, c.1945/46-1950): No number line and no consistent 'First Edition' statement. Identify a first printing by the stylized interlocked 'FS' publisher's device on the copyright pa…
• ERA 3 - Farrar, Straus and Cudahy (1953-1963): Imprint line reads 'Farrar, Straus and Cudahy' after the 1953 Pellegrini & Cudahy merger. First printings state 'First Printing (year)' or 'First Published (year)' on the co…

Full Farrar, Straus & Giroux / Michael di Capua Books 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 Farrar, Straus & Giroux (Michael di Capua Books), New York, 1990 is the true first. Corroborated from the UK side: a UK dealer (John Atkinson Books, ABA/ILAB/PBFA) catalogues the 1990 FSG issue as the US first edition rather than claiming UK precedence. No UK edition preceding the US has been identified; the US edition is the one collected.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition documented in the sources consulted. Because the book carries no jacket, the usual club tells (blind stamp to rear board, absent price, cheaper bulk) do not apply in the normal way. The reliable tells are the copyright-page statement and the printed back-cover price. Note the trap created by the 2001 DreamWorks film: film-era reissues and movie tie-ins are reprints, and the absence of a jacket on those is normal and proves nothing.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Shrek! a first edition?

A first edition of Shrek! by William Steig (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / Michael di Capua Books) is identified by: First printing states 'first edition' on the copyright page, given as 'First edition, 1990' with no later printings listed; multiple dealers confirm the statement independently ('a fine first edition (so stated on the copyright page)').

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 Farrar, Straus & Giroux (Michael di Capua Books), New York, 1990 is the true first.

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

No book-club edition documented in the sources consulted. Because the book carries no jacket, the usual club tells (blind stamp to rear board, absent price, cheaper bulk) do not apply in the normal way. The reliable tells are the copyright-page statement and the printed back-cover price. Note the trap created by the 2001 DreamWorks film: film-era reissues and movie tie-ins are reprints, and the absence of a jacket on those is normal and proves nothing.

I have a first edition of Shrek! — 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.