Is My Copy of The Tiger Who Came to Tea a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first impression: Collins, London, 1968
• 4to (about 260 x 190 mm), colour illustrations throughout, issued in publisher's matt pictorial paper boards — boards, not cloth — with the pictorial dust jacket, the jacket being the scarce element and frequently absent
• The identification is not settled by the copyright page: Collins printed no impression line and later printings simply repeat the 1968 copyright date, so three external dating checks carry the work
• (a) The jacket flap price must be pre-decimal, in shillings; a decimalised price means February 1971 or later
• (b) The Collins address on the title page should show the 'SW1' postcode form, which predates the SW1A introduction completed by 1974
• (c) There should be no ISBN — 10-digit ISBNs came in from 1970, so the presence of an ISBN rules out a 1968 impression

How Collins marked a first edition

• First editions either carry NO additional printing statement on the copyright page or state "First published [Year]" — practice was not fully consistent, so confirm with jacket/ad dating
• Later printings noted with impression lines; their absence supports a first

Full Collins 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. 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 confirmed: William Collins, Sons & Co., London, 1968. This was Kerr's first book. A first American edition followed from Coward-McCann, New York, in 1968 per catalogue records; the Collins hardback has precedence and is the collected edition, and the US issue is not a co-precedent. The Collins paperback of 1969 and all later Picture Lions / HarperCollins issues are first-thus only, not printings of the first edition. English is the original language.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted. The standard misidentification is the early-1970s impression, which shows the same 1968 copyright page but a decimalised jacket price and a 10-digit ISBN; PBFA dealers place that as the second impression of about 1971 and it is routinely offered as a first. Jacketless copies forfeit the price check and must be worked on the ISBN and title-page-address points alone. Any copy with an ISBN, however 1968 its copyright line reads, is a later impression.P-038968

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Tiger Who Came to Tea a first edition?

A first edition of The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr (Collins) is identified by: First edition, first impression: Collins, London, 1968.

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 confirmed: William Collins, Sons & Co., London, 1968.

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

No book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted. The standard misidentification is the early-1970s impression, which shows the same 1968 copyright page but a decimalised jacket price and a 10-digit ISBN; PBFA dealers place that as the second impression of about 1971 and it is routinely offered as a first. Jacketless copies forfeit the price check and must be worked on the ISBN and title-page-address points alone.

I have a first edition of The Tiger Who Came to Tea — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.