Is My The Diary of a Young Girl a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Dutch true first: Het Achterhuis, Uitgeverij Contact, Amsterdam, published 25 June 1947 in an edition of 3,036 copies
• The decisive point is the series statement "Proloog-reeks" on the half-title, present only in the first edition and dropped from the second onward
• The first edition carries NO printing statement anywhere; the second through fifth editions print it on p
• IV and the sixth on the title page, so any printing statement rules the copy out
• Collation [2], X, 253 pp., with a portrait of Anne Frank, two photographs of the hiding place, a plan of the Annex and two facsimiles of the handwritten diary; grey card covers with an orange rectangular panel carrying author, title and publisher
• Jacket point: Anne Frank's name printed in yellow (blue on the second edition, orange on the third), and the jacket subtitle reads "Dagboekbrieven van 14 Juni 1942" where the title page reads "12 juni 1942"

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. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. 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.
4. Verify this is the American true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. 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.
6. 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?

The Dutch Het Achterhuis (Contact, Amsterdam, 1947) is the true first of the work. The census note is corrected on English precedence: the Vallentine Mitchell London edition appeared 30 April 1952 and precedes the Doubleday New York edition of 12 June 1952 — they were not simultaneous. Both English editions use the same B. M. Mooyaart-Doubleday translation and both are collected: London holds priority as the first edition in English (foreword by Storm Jameson), while the Doubleday first printing is the more sought English issue on account of the Eleanor Roosevelt introduction. Do not treat the Roosevelt introduction as a mark of the first English edition — it is the American issue point only.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The reliable tell on the American side is the copyright-page "First Edition" statement: its absence means the copy is not the first Doubleday printing. Doubleday's club and later issues characteristically drop that statement and, per the publisher's general practice of the period, carry a blind-stamped device on the rear board with an unpriced jacket. On the Dutch side, any "druk" (printing) statement, or a jacket with the name in blue or orange rather than yellow, indicates a later Contact edition. No book-club issue of the 1947 Contact edition is documented.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Diary of a Young Girl a first edition?

A first edition of The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank (Contact, Amsterdam) is identified by: Dutch true first: Het Achterhuis, Uitgeverij Contact, Amsterdam, published 25 June 1947 in an edition of 3,036 copies.

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. The Dutch Het Achterhuis (Contact, Amsterdam, 1947) is the true first of the work.

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

The reliable tell on the American side is the copyright-page "First Edition" statement: its absence means the copy is not the first Doubleday printing. Doubleday's club and later issues characteristically drop that statement and, per the publisher's general practice of the period, carry a blind-stamped device on the rear board with an unpriced jacket. On the Dutch side, any "druk" (printing) statement, or a jacket with the name in blue or orange rather than yellow, indicates a later Contact edit

I have a first edition of The Diary of a Young Girl — 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.