Is My Tom's Midnight Garden a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Oxford University Press's method for this period is negative and must be applied as such: OUP printed no edition statement on first editions but did note subsequent impressions, so a first should show 'First published 1958' on the copyright page and nothing further — any 'reprinted', 'second impression', or later-date line rules the copy out
• There is no number line (OUP only adopted number rows in the late 1980s)
• Collation and binding: 229 pp., illustrated by Susan Einzig with 27 line drawings; publisher's dark green cloth boards (some dealers describe the shade as teal) lettered in silver on the spine
• Einzig's pictorial dust wrapper
• ABA/ILAB dealers distinguish a first-issue wrapper by the original pre-decimal price present at the inside front flap, unclipped; a price-clipped wrapper forfeits that check and the copy must rest on the copyright-page point alone

How Oxford University Press marked a first edition

• Until the late 1980s OUP made NO affirmative first-edition statement; first printings carried only the copyright/publication line, while LATER printings were noted ('Reprinted 19xx,' 'Second impression') on the copyright…
• From the late 1980s OUP adopted a number row/line on the copyright page; the lowest number present indicates the printing ('1' = first).

Full Oxford University Press 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 true first confirmed: Oxford University Press, London, 1958 — the census claim stands. It won the 1958 Carnegie Medal. The first American edition followed from J. B. Lippincott, Philadelphia, 1959 (229 pp.), using the same Susan Einzig illustrations; it is collected as the first US edition but London 1958 has clear precedence. English is the original language; there is no translation-precedence question.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No UK book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted. The tells that actually matter are OUP's own reprint lines added beneath 'First published 1958' on the copyright page, and the later Puffin and Oxford paperback reprints, which carry ISBNs (10-digit ISBNs from 1970 onward) and are first-thus at best. Any copy dated 1958 on the title page but showing an impression statement on the verso is a later printing, not a first.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Tom's Midnight Garden a first edition?

A first edition of Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce (Oxford University Press) is identified by: Oxford University Press's method for this period is negative and must be applied as such: OUP printed no edition statement on first editions but did note subsequent impressions, so a first should show 'First published 1958' on the copyright page and nothing further — any 'reprinted', 'second impression', or later-date line rules the copy out.

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 true first confirmed: Oxford University Press, London, 1958 — the census claim stands.

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

No UK book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted. The tells that actually matter are OUP's own reprint lines added beneath 'First published 1958' on the copyright page, and the later Puffin and Oxford paperback reprints, which carry ISBNs (10-digit ISBNs from 1970 onward) and are first-thus at best. Any copy dated 1958 on the title page but showing an impression statement on the verso is a later printing, not a first.

I have a first edition of Tom's Midnight Garden — 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.