# Is "The Bronze Bow" by Elizabeth George Speare a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare (Houghton Mifflin Company, 1961) is identified by: First edition, first printing: Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1961. US true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing: Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1961
- Date 1961 on the title page and copyright page, with no printing statement (first printings are not separately stated)
- First-state dust jacket lacks the Newbery Medal seal (Medal awarded 1962)
- Pictorial cloth
- Publisher imprint reads Houghton Mifflin Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Elizabeth George Speare |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin Company |
| Year | 1961 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | First edition, first printing: Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1961 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing: Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1961. Date 1961 on the title page and copyright page, with no printing statement (first printings are not separately stated). First-state dust jacket lacks the Newbery Medal seal (Medal awarded 1962). Pictorial cloth.

## Is this the true first?
US true first. Awarded the Newbery Medal in 1962.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings add a printing line; post-award jackets carry the Newbery seal. Book-club copies are smaller and lack a jacket price.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Bronze Bow* by Elizabeth George Speare a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-bronze-bow
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.