# Is "The Iron Man" by Ted Hughes a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Iron Man by Ted Hughes (Faber & Faber, 1968) is identified by: First edition, first impression: London, Faber and Faber, 1968, published 26 February 1968, with drawings by George Adamson. UK Faber and Faber (London), 26 February 1968 is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first impression: London, Faber and Faber, 1968, published 26 February 1968, with drawings by George Adamson
- Faber firsts of this period state 'First published in [year]' on the copyright page and note subsequent printings ('Second impression' and so on); no number line was used at this date, so the test is the first-publication line together with the absence of any impression statement
- Faber was changing the year format from lowercase Roman numerals to Arabic numerals right around 1968 — reference sources place the switch at exactly this date — so the numeral style is not usable as a point for this title
- Issued in pictorial boards, the dust wrapper repeating the Adamson board design to front and spine; the wrapper should be unclipped with the price present at the flap
- Title-page title reads 'The Iron Man: A Story in Five Nights'
- Correct publisher/imprint: Faber & Faber

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ted Hughes |
| Publisher | Faber & Faber |
| Year | 1968 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Comic / graphic novel |
| Key point | First edition, first impression: London, Faber and Faber, 1968, published 26 February 1968, with drawings by George Adamson |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, first impression: London, Faber and Faber, 1968, published 26 February 1968, with drawings by George Adamson. Faber firsts of this period state 'First published in [year]' on the copyright page and note subsequent printings ('Second impression' and so on); no number line was used at this date, so the test is the first-publication line together with the absence of any impression statement. Faber was changing the year format from lowercase Roman numerals to Arabic numerals right around 1968 — reference sources place the switch at exactly this date — so the numeral style is not usable as a point for this title. Issued in pictorial boards, the dust wrapper repeating the Adamson board design to front and spine; the wrapper should be unclipped with the price present at the flap. Title-page title reads 'The Iron Man: A Story in Five Nights'.

## Is this the true first?
UK Faber and Faber (London), 26 February 1968 is the true first. The first American edition is Harper & Row, New York, 23 October 1968, retitled 'The Iron Giant' — the title and the internal references to the metal man were altered to avoid confusion with the Marvel Comics character, and it was newly illustrated by Robert Nadler rather than Adamson. Both are collected: the Faber as the true first, the Harper as the first American edition and the first appearance of the altered American text. Harper firsts of this date state 'First Edition' on the copyright page.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted. Later Faber impressions retain the 1968 first-publication line and add an impression statement — that added line is the tell. Beware 'first thus' offerings of the later Faber reissue illustrated by Andrew Davidson and the 2010 Walker Books/Faber edition illustrated by Laura Carlin; these are new illustrated editions, not first printings. Note a live source conflict: the Ted Hughes Society page credits Andrew Davidson as illustrator of the 1968 first, which is contradicted by dealer and reference descriptions crediting George Adamson.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Iron Man* by Ted Hughes a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-iron-man
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.