Is My The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first edition is dated 1908 at the foot of the title page and again at the colophon, over the Frederick Warne & Co
• London imprint
• Binding is publisher's grey-green paper-covered boards, ruled and lettered in white on the front cover and lettered in white on the spine, with a colour pictorial label mounted on the front cover within a blind rectangular panel with arrowhead corners, outlined in blind
• Collate 84, [1], [1 — printer's imprint] pp., with a colour frontispiece and twenty-six colour plates (included in the pagination), and colour pictorial endpapers of the design catalogued as Quinby Plate IV. The single most important caveat, and one a buyer must be told: the first three impressions (August, October and December 1908) are believed to be typographically identical and cannot be separated, so a copy correct in every point is a demonstrable 1908 first edition but is not demonstrable as a first impression
• References: Linder p
• Quinby 14

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 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 true first, and the census claim is correct: Frederick Warne, London, 1908. Potter wrote in English for Warne of London and the tales originate there; no American or other-language edition precedes the Warne. Warne's New York issues of the tales are not the collected first. There is no competing edition to name here — unlike The Fairy Caravan, this title follows the normal Potter pattern of London origination.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later printings are dated later on the title page or are undated, so the 1908 date at the title-page foot and at the colophon is the first screen. Endpaper designs were revised across the life of the series, so a later endpaper design in an otherwise correct copy indicates a later impression or a made-up/rebound copy — endpapers and boards should agree with the Quinby Plate IV design for a 1908 copy. Warne reprinted the tales continuously through the twentieth century, and later Warne printings are "first thus" at best.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck a first edition?

A first edition of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck by Beatrix Potter (Frederick Warne) is identified by: The first edition is dated 1908 at the foot of the title page and again at the colophon, over the Frederick Warne & Co.

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. UK true first, and the census claim is correct: Frederick Warne, London, 1908.

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

Later printings are dated later on the title page or are undated, so the 1908 date at the title-page foot and at the colophon is the first screen. Endpaper designs were revised across the life of the series, so a later endpaper design in an otherwise correct copy indicates a later impression or a made-up/rebound copy — endpapers and boards should agree with the Quinby Plate IV design for a 1908 copy. Warne reprinted the tales continuously through the twentieth century, and later Warne printings

I have a first edition of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck — 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.