# Is "The Cat Who Went to Heaven" by Elizabeth Coatsworth a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth (The Macmillan Company, 1930) is identified by: First edition 1930, Macmillan (New York). US true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition 1930, Macmillan (New York)
- The first printing carries the stated line 'Published August, 1930' on the copyright page with no reprint-history lines below it
- Original red cloth; illustrations by Lynd Ward
- Original pictorial dust jacket shows no Newbery Medal (the medal was awarded in 1931, after first publication)
- Publisher imprint reads The Macmillan Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Elizabeth Coatsworth |
| Publisher | The Macmillan Company |
| Year | 1930 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | First edition 1930, Macmillan (New York) |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition 1930, Macmillan (New York). The first printing carries the stated line 'Published August, 1930' on the copyright page with no reprint-history lines below it. Original red cloth; illustrations by Lynd Ward. Original pictorial dust jacket shows no Newbery Medal (the medal was awarded in 1931, after first publication).

## Is this the true first?
US true first. Newbery Medal 1931.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Macmillan printings add reprint-history lines on the verso. The revised 1958 edition with new Lynd Ward art is a distinct later issue, not a first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Cat Who Went to Heaven* by Elizabeth Coatsworth a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-cat-who-went-to-heaven
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.