Is My The Magic Pudding a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Published Sydney, October 1918, in a single printing of 3,000 copies — a quarto "guinea book" aimed at the art collector as much as the child, 171 pp., with a colour title page and 102 illustrations by Lindsay (drawn 1917)
• Critically, the 3,000 copies were one printing but were bound at different times, so the variants are binding ISSUES, not separate printings — every copy is the first edition, first printing
• The accepted issue point is the endpapers: the first issue (reported as the first 50 copies bound) has light green endpapers bearing the Angus & Robertson monogram, designed by Walter Syer; the balance was bound later with plain cream endpapers, and dealers report the later issue is trimmed slightly shorter
• Spine cloth colour is NOT a settled point — dealers describe the cloth-backed binding variously as blue and as burgundy, and lettering to the spine is reported both in gilt and in black, so the endpapers should carry the identification
• A dust jacket with a mounted cover illustration is reported by one dealer; it is extremely scarce and the jacket point is single-sourced

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 Australian 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 Australian Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1918 edition is the true first, and it is the sole first — the census claim is confirmed as to precedence. But the census's "UK/US issues follow" is NOT confirmed: no contemporaneous UK or US edition is documented in the sources consulted, and later British and American appearances are reprints rather than co-equal firsts. Note the publisher's own trap: the 1918 prospectus advertised that "only one edition will be published," which was a marketing device — the book has never been out of print in the century since, so the claim carries no bibliographical weight.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition documented in the sources consulted. The reprint field is dense — Angus & Robertson and later publishers have reprinted continuously since 1918 (a 1963 "New edition" is among those circulating with dealer descriptions that echo the first). The distinguishing features are the quarto "guinea book" format, the 1918 A&R Sydney imprint and the endpapers; later editions are smaller in format and reset.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Magic Pudding a first edition?

A first edition of The Magic Pudding by Norman Lindsay (Angus & Robertson) is identified by: Published Sydney, October 1918, in a single printing of 3,000 copies — a quarto "guinea book" aimed at the art collector as much as the child, 171 pp., with a colour title page and 102 illustrations by Lindsay (drawn 1917).

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 Australian Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1918 edition is the true first, and it is the sole first — the census claim is confirmed as to precedence.

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

No book-club edition documented in the sources consulted. The reprint field is dense — Angus & Robertson and later publishers have reprinted continuously since 1918 (a 1963 "New edition" is among those circulating with dealer descriptions that echo the first). The distinguishing features are the quarto "guinea book" format, the 1918 A&R Sydney imprint and the endpapers; later editions are smaller in format and reset.

I have a first edition of The Magic Pudding — 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.