Is My The Second Jungle Book a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Two editions, both collected; name both
• US (true first): The Century Co., New York, 1895, printed by the De Vinne Press — decorated cloth with the central elephant device stamped in BLACK (the inverse of the London edition's gilt), illustrations after John Lockwood Kipling; two binding variants are recorded, green cloth and terra-cotta cloth, with no priority established between them, and an original orange-and-white dust wrapper is reported
• English: Macmillan & Co., London, 1895 — royal blue cloth elaborately stamped in gilt with a gilt vignette to the front board and the spine lettered and decorated in gilt, all edges gilt, illustrated by J. Lockwood Kipling; it was issued with a dust jacket, unlike the 1894 Jungle Book UK first which had none, and jacketed copies are of the greatest rarity
• The cardinal textual point of the first ENGLISH edition is the truncated 'The King's Ankus': the first English edition ends at the words 'lay the ruby-and-turquoise ankus,' inadvertently omitting the final c.500 words in which Mowgli returns the treasure to its hiding place to prevent further killings
• That omission was made good in the first reprint, when the c.500 words were added, so the truncated ending is a positive first-printing point for the Macmillan
• This textual point rests principally on the Kipling Society's Readers' Guide annotation to the story, and is repeated in general reference

How The Century Co. marked a first edition

• 19th-century rule: no consistent stated-edition convention — match the title-page date to the copyright date and confirm no later printing is noted.
• Many Century books originated as serials in The Century Magazine or St. Nicholas; the first book printing is dated on the title page and lacks reprint notices.

Full The Century Co. first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. 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.
3. Verify this is the American true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. 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.
5. 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?

Census claim CORRECTED. The census asserts that Macmillan (London) 1895 precedes the Century (New York) issue; the reverse is true. The Century Co. edition was published three days BEFORE the Macmillan London edition, making the American the true first by date, and dealer cataloguing further records that the American text carries a number of alterations against the English. The Macmillan London 1895 is the first English edition; it is the more sought-after of the two and it alone carries the celebrated truncated 'King's Ankus' ending, so both editions must be named and neither collapses into the other. The sources consulted fix the interval at three days but do not pin the exact calendar dates, which is left open here; all of the stories had appeared previously in magazines during 1894–95, so neither book is the first appearance of the text.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The title predates the book-club era and no book-club issue exists. The dominant reprint is the Macmillan (London) Standard Edition, published and frequently reprinted between 1899 and 1950 — it is in this and every other reprint that the restored 'King's Ankus' text appears (at p. 173 of the Standard Edition), so any copy with the complete ending is not the first English printing. Later Century printings are likewise common. As with all Kipling, the gilt elephant and Ganesha devices persist across reprints and are not by themselves a first-edition point.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Second Jungle Book a first edition?

A first edition of The Second Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (The Century Co.) is identified by: Two editions, both collected; name both.

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. Census claim CORRECTED.

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

The title predates the book-club era and no book-club issue exists. The dominant reprint is the Macmillan (London) Standard Edition, published and frequently reprinted between 1899 and 1950 — it is in this and every other reprint that the restored 'King's Ankus' text appears (at p. 173 of the Standard Edition), so any copy with the complete ending is not the first English printing. Later Century printings are likewise common. As with all Kipling, the gilt elephant and Ganesha devices persist acr

I have a first edition of The Second Jungle Book — 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.