# Is "The Brownies: Their Book" by Palmer Cox a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Brownies: Their Book by Palmer Cox (The Century Co., 1887) is identified by: First compilation of Palmer Cox's Brownies material from St.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First compilation of Palmer Cox's Brownies material from St
- Nicholas Magazine, where the character debuted in February 1883, gathered into book form as a quarto in color pictorial paper-covered boards collating xii + 144pp
- First-state copies of the first edition carry the De Vinne Press device on the copyright page immediately below the copyright notice
- A documented second state, still within the first year of issue, retains the device but positions it lower on the page
- Both early states lack any statement of printing 'thousands' and any advertisements for later Brownies titles, which had not yet been published
- Publisher imprint reads The Century Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Palmer Cox |
| Publisher | The Century Co. |
| Year | 1887 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | First compilation of Palmer Cox's Brownies material from St |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First compilation of Palmer Cox's Brownies material from St. Nicholas Magazine, where the character debuted in February 1883, gathered into book form as a quarto in color pictorial paper-covered boards collating xii + 144pp. First-state copies of the first edition carry the De Vinne Press device on the copyright page immediately below the copyright notice. A documented second state, still within the first year of issue, retains the device but positions it lower on the page. Both early states lack any statement of printing 'thousands' and any advertisements for later Brownies titles, which had not yet been published.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings add a stated print-run ('thousands') line to the copyright page and carry advertisements for subsequent Brownies titles once those had been published.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Brownies: Their Book* by Palmer Cox a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-brownies-their-book
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.