# Is "The High King" by Lloyd Alexander a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The High King by Lloyd Alexander (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1968) is identified by: First edition published 1968 by Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York. US Holt, Rinehart and Winston 1968 is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition published 1968 by Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York
- The true first printing states First Edition on the copyright page
- The fifth and final volume of the Chronicles of Prydain
- Pictorial cloth with a pictorial dust jacket; first-state jacket precedes the Newbery seal
- Publisher imprint reads Holt, Rinehart and Winston
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Lloyd Alexander |
| Publisher | Holt, Rinehart and Winston |
| Year | 1968 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | First edition published 1968 by Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition published 1968 by Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York. The true first printing states First Edition on the copyright page. The fifth and final volume of the Chronicles of Prydain. Pictorial cloth with a pictorial dust jacket; first-state jacket precedes the Newbery seal.

## Is this the true first?
US Holt, Rinehart and Winston 1968 is the true first. Winner of the 1969 Newbery Medal, so a jacket bearing the seal is a later (post-award) state, not the first issue.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Holt printings drop or alter the First Edition statement. Book-club editions lack a printed jacket price; post-award jackets add the Newbery seal. The earlier four Prydain volumes are separate books; only The High King won the Medal.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The High King* by Lloyd Alexander a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-high-king
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.