# Is "The Magician's Nephew" by C. S. Lewis (illustrated by Pauline Baynes) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis (illustrated by Pauline Baynes) (The Bodley Head, 1955) is identified by: UK first: The Bodley Head, London, 1955, illustrated by Pauline Baynes. The UK Bodley Head edition is the true first, preceding the US Macmillan edition issued the same year (1955).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK first: The Bodley Head, London, 1955, illustrated by Pauline Baynes
- For the sixth and seventh Narnia titles the UK imprint changed from Geoffrey Bles to The Bodley Head, so a genuine first of this title carries the Bodley Head imprint, not Bles
- The true first shows no impression or reprint statement on the verso of the title page
- Publisher imprint reads The Bodley Head
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | C. S. Lewis (illustrated by Pauline Baynes) |
| Publisher | The Bodley Head |
| Year | 1955 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | UK first: The Bodley Head, London, 1955, illustrated by Pauline Baynes |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
UK first: The Bodley Head, London, 1955, illustrated by Pauline Baynes. For the sixth and seventh Narnia titles the UK imprint changed from Geoffrey Bles to The Bodley Head, so a genuine first of this title carries the Bodley Head imprint, not Bles. The true first shows no impression or reprint statement on the verso of the title page.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Bodley Head edition is the true first, preceding the US Macmillan edition issued the same year (1955). The shift from Bles to Bodley Head for the last two books is a common point of confusion.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later impressions add a verso impression note. The US Macmillan edition lacks the Bodley Head imprint and is not the UK first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Magician's Nephew* by C. S. Lewis (illustrated by Pauline Baynes) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-magicians-nephew
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.