How to identify a first printing
- Modern Penguin house style: full descending number line ending in 1; often 'First Impression' / 'First Edition' stated
- Philomel (founded 1980 by Ann Beneduce) follows the same number-line-to-1 rule
- Grosset & Dunlap mass-market series (Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys) have their OWN complex format-based points (list-of-titles-on-rear-flap, no number line in early eras) — distinct from trade picture-book ID
Notable points & cautions
- Philomel published Eric Carle's later works and Patricia Polacco; Jan Brett titles at Putnam
- Grosset & Dunlap early series-book firsts are dated by the advertised title list on the dust jacket / rear, NOT a number line — a specialist subfield with frequent reprints
- All consolidated under Penguin Young Readers (Penguin Random House)
Imprints
First editions also appear under: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, Philomel Books, Grosset & Dunlap, Nancy Paulsen Books, Price Stern Sloan, Puffin. Each generally follows the house convention above.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my Putnam / Philomel / Grosset & Dunlap (Penguin children's, formerly G.P. Putnam's Sons) book is a first edition?
Check the copyright page. Modern Penguin house style: full descending number line ending in 1; often 'First Impression' / 'First Edition' stated Philomel (founded 1980 by Ann Beneduce) follows the same number-line-to-1 rule
Does Putnam / Philomel / Grosset & Dunlap (Penguin children's, formerly G.P. Putnam's Sons) use a number line?
Philomel (founded 1980 by Ann Beneduce) follows the same number-line-to-1 rule
Is a book-club edition a Putnam / Philomel / Grosset & Dunlap (Penguin children's, formerly G.P. Putnam's Sons) first edition?
No. Book-club editions reprint the text but are not the true first edition. Philomel published Eric Carle's later works and Patricia Polacco; Jan Brett titles at Putnam
What era does this cover?
This covers Putnam / Philomel / Grosset & Dunlap (Penguin children's, formerly G.P. Putnam's Sons) (1838–present (Putnam); Philomel 1980–present; Penguin number-line era 1980s–present). Conventions changed over time, so confirm the era of your copy.
Putnam / Philomel / Grosset & Dunlap (Penguin children's, formerly G.P. Putnam's Sons) titles with documented first-edition points
Each link opens that title’s specific points of issue — the exact marks that separate a true first printing from a later one.
- Brown Girl Dreaming (Jacqueline Woodson, 2014)
- Israel Potter: His Fifty Years of Exile (Herman Melville, 1855)
- When Charlie McButton Lost Power (Suzanne Collins, 2005)
- Wolfert's Roost and Other Papers, Now First Collected (Washington Irving, 1855)