Is My 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 — the census claim stands. 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.

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 — the census claim stands.

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. Any copy with an ISBN, however 1968 its copyright line reads, is a later

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 — 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.