Is My Struwwelpeter (Lustige Geschichten und drollige Bilder) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The decisive point is that the 1845 first does not bear the word Struwwelpeter in its title at all
• It reads "Lustige Geschichten und drollige Bilder mit 15 schön kolorirten Tafeln für Kinder von 3–6 Jahren", Frankfurt am Main: Literarische Anstalt (J. Rütten), 1845, published October 1845 under the pseudonym "Reimerich Kinderlieb" — note the 1845 orthography "kolorirten", not the modern "kolorierten"
• The 1845 first contains only SIX stories, on 15 single-sided, hand-coloured lithographed plates reproduced faithfully from Hoffmann's manuscript; the Struwwelpeter figure stands at the END of the book rather than opening it, and the stories of Paulinchen, Zappel-Philipp, Hans Guck-in-die-Luft and the flying Robert are entirely absent
• The verse contents summary printed on the cover ends with the pseudonym
• The Universitätsbibliothek Frankfurt holds a copy (shelfmark W 16) with a complete digital facsimile, which is the practical point of comparison for any candidate
• Genuine 1845 copies are seldom encountered; the overwhelming majority of books offered as an "Erstausgabe" are later editions or modern facsimiles

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. 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.
3. Verify this is the American true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
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?

German-language original, Frankfurt 1845 — the census claim is correct, and the edition sequence is the whole story on this title. Second edition 1846: pseudonym changed to "Heinrich Kinderlieb", two stories added. THIRD EDITION, 1847: first to carry "Der Struwwelpeter" in the title — this confirms the census note that the Struwwelpeter title dates from 1847. Fifth edition, also 1847: expanded to the definitive ten stories on 24 plates and the first to bear Hoffmann's full name. FIRST ENGLISH: "The English Struwwelpeter; or, Pretty Stories and Funny Pictures for Little Children", Leipzig: Friedrich Volckmar, 1848, an anonymous translation — note it is a Leipzig-printed English book, not a London one, and it is a first-in-English rather than any kind of true first. An American "Slovenly Peter" followed in 1849.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Every edition from the third (1847) onward titled "Der Struwwelpeter" is a later edition — the 1845 title wording is the discriminator, and a title page reading "Der Struwwelpeter" rules the copy out immediately. Ten stories rules it out as well; ten is the post-1847 form. Modern "Originalfassung von 1845" reprints (Thienemann/Esslinger and others) reproduce the 1845 text and title faithfully and are the commonest thing mistaken for the first — check for a modern ISBN and modern paper. One correction for accuracy: Wikipedia states the first edition contained ten stories, which is wrong; German scholarly sources (kinderundjugendmedien.de) and the Universitätsbibliothek Frankfurt agree on six stories and 15 plates for 1845.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Struwwelpeter (Lustige Geschichten und drollige Bilder) a first edition?

A first edition of Struwwelpeter (Lustige Geschichten und drollige Bilder) by Heinrich Hoffmann (Literarische Anstalt) is identified by: The decisive point is that the 1845 first does not bear the word Struwwelpeter in its title at all.

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. German-language original, Frankfurt 1845 — the census claim is correct, and the edition sequence is the whole story on this title.

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

Every edition from the third (1847) onward titled "Der Struwwelpeter" is a later edition — the 1845 title wording is the discriminator, and a title page reading "Der Struwwelpeter" rules the copy out immediately. Ten stories rules it out as well; ten is the post-1847 form. Modern "Originalfassung von 1845" reprints (Thienemann/Esslinger and others) reproduce the 1845 text and title faithfully and are the commonest thing mistaken for the first — check for a modern ISBN and modern paper. One corre

I have a first edition of Struwwelpeter (Lustige Geschichten und drollige Bilder) — 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.