Is My The Snowman a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first impression: London, Hamish Hamilton, 1978
• Issued WITHOUT a dust wrapper, in the publisher's glazed pictorial paper-covered boards — dealers and auction records independently describe first editions as 'without dust wrapper, as issued', so a jacket is not a point of issue here and its absence is not a defect
• Royal octavo/small folio, wordless throughout, illustrated in coloured pencil, 32pp
• Hamish Hamilton firsts of this period state 'First published (Year)' or 'First published in Great Britain in (Year)' on the copyright page and note subsequent printings; the house added a number row only in 1988, so no number line should be present
• The test is the first-publication line together with the absence of any impression statement

How Hamish Hamilton marked a first edition

• First printing = statement present with no list of later impressions

Full Hamish Hamilton first-edition guide →

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. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
4. Verify this is the UK 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?

UK Hamish Hamilton (London), 1978 is the originating edition and the collected true first; it was runner-up for the Kate Greenaway Medal. The first American edition is Random House, New York, published November 1978 — the same year — likewise in publisher's illustrated boards; first printings are reported to state 'First American Edition' on the copyright page with a complete number line, and one dealer additionally cites a 0307 code on the jacket. Both are collected, but the Random House is the first American edition, not the true first. No source consulted supplies a month for the Hamish Hamilton, so UK priority rests on its being the originating publisher rather than on a documented month-by-month comparison.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted. Because the Hamish Hamilton first was issued without a jacket, the usual jacket tests do not apply — identify from the copyright page alone. The title has been reprinted continuously since 1978 in the same pictorial boards, so later Hamish Hamilton impressions are near-identical externally and the added impression statement is the only reliable tell. Puffin paperbacks, printings tied to the 1982 animated adaptation, and later Random House/Penguin reissues are 'first thus' only.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Snowman a first edition?

A first edition of The Snowman by Raymond Briggs (Hamish Hamilton) is identified by: First edition, first impression: London, Hamish Hamilton, 1978.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). UK Hamish Hamilton (London), 1978 is the originating edition and the collected true first; it was runner-up for the Kate Greenaway Medal.

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

No book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted. Because the Hamish Hamilton first was issued without a jacket, the usual jacket tests do not apply — identify from the copyright page alone. The title has been reprinted continuously since 1978 in the same pictorial boards, so later Hamish Hamilton impressions are near-identical externally and the added impression statement is the only reliable tell. Puffin paperbacks, printings tied to the 1982 animated adaptation, and later Random Hous

I have a first edition of The Snowman — 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.