The points of issue
First edition, Atlantic Monthly Press (Boston), 1923, octavo, 247 pages. Title page dated 1923 with no added printing statement on the copyright verso. Yellow pictorial boards; color frontispiece by Anton Otto Fischer, with nine full-page illustrations.
Is this the true first?
US true first. The book was published posthumously in 1923; Hawes died that year, and the Newbery Medal followed in 1924.
Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings and the 1934 Beacon Hill Bookshelf reissue (which added tipped-in color plates) are not the first. Confirm the 1923 Atlantic Monthly Press imprint and the absence of any added-printing line. The book is very scarce in the dust jacket.
Frequently asked questions
Is my copy of The Dark Frigate a first edition?
Look for these first-edition points: First edition, Atlantic Monthly Press (Boston), 1923, octavo, 247 pages. Title page dated 1923 with no added printing statement on the copyright verso. Yellow pictorial boards; color frontispiece by Anton Otto Fischer, with nine full-page illustrations.
How do I tell the first printing from a later one?
Check the copyright page for the publisher's first-printing convention and confirm the points above. US true first. The book was published posthumously in 1923; Hawes died that year, and the Newbery Medal followed in 1924.
Is the book-club edition the same as the first?
Later printings and the 1934 Beacon Hill Bookshelf reissue (which added tipped-in color plates) are not the first. Confirm the 1923 Atlantic Monthly Press imprint and the absence of any added-printing line. The book is very scarce in the dust jacket.
I have a first edition of The Dark Frigate — what should I do?
If you're clearing books, New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup in Albuquerque, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies aren't lost. To sell, see the author's collecting guide. Either way, nothing valuable ends up in a landfill.