# Is "The Sign on Rosie's Door" by Maurice Sendak a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Sign on Rosie's Door by Maurice Sendak (Harper & Brothers, 1960) is identified by: First printing is identified by the unclipped first-issue dust jacket bearing the original printed price and the correct first binding. US Harper & Brothers first, 1960.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing is identified by the unclipped first-issue dust jacket bearing the original printed price and the correct first binding
- Consistent with Harper children's books of the period, an edition statement is often absent; any Harper copyright-page code is a two-letter month/year printing date, so a first shows a date consistent with the 1960 copyright and no later-printing code
- Publisher imprint reads Harper & Brothers
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Maurice Sendak |
| Publisher | Harper & Brothers |
| Year | 1960 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | First printing is identified by the unclipped first-issue dust jacket bearing the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First printing is identified by the unclipped first-issue dust jacket bearing the original printed price and the correct first binding. Consistent with Harper children's books of the period, an edition statement is often absent; any Harper copyright-page code is a two-letter month/year printing date, so a first shows a date consistent with the 1960 copyright and no later-printing code.

## Is this the true first?
US Harper & Brothers first, 1960. The Harper & Brothers to Harper & Row merger did not occur until April 1962, so 1960 firsts bear the Harper & Brothers imprint; some later listings loosely catalog it as Harper & Row. Rosie later inspired the 'Really Rosie' character.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club editions typically lack the printed jacket price.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Sign on Rosie's Door* by Maurice Sendak a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-sign-on-rosies-door
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.