# Is "Shrek!" by William Steig a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Shrek! by William Steig (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / Michael di Capua Books, 1990) 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)'). US Farrar, Straus & Giroux (Michael di Capua Books), New York, 1990 is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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'
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus & Giroux / Michael di Capua Books

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | William Steig |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus & Giroux / Michael di Capua Books |
| Year | 1990 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | First printing states 'first edition' on the copyright page, given as 'First edition, 1990' with no later printings listed; multiple… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## 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'.

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Shrek!* by William Steig a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/shrek
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.