Is My Copy of A Little Princess a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition: Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, published 30 September 1905, full title 'A Little Princess: Being the Whole Story of Sara Crewe Now Told for the First Time'
• The title page reads 'WITH ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLORS BY ETHEL FRANKLIN BETTS / CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS / NEW YORK' above the imprint year, and the copyright page reads 'Copyright, 1888 and 1905, by Charles Scribner's Sons' followed by 'Published September, 1905'
• IMPORTANT CAUTION verified directly against a scanned Scribner reprint: the 'Published September, 1905' line is NOT by itself a first-printing point, because Scribner carried it unchanged into later printings - the reprint examined has a title page dated 1917 while its copyright page still reads 'Copyright, 1888 and 1905' and 'Published September, 1905'
• Since Scribner dated the title-page imprint, the imprint year is the check: a first must read 1905 there
• Collates vii-266 pages, approximately 9 x 7 inches, with a colour frontispiece and eleven full-page colour plates by Ethel Franklin Betts (twelve colour illustrations in all)
• Bound in publisher's blue cloth, pictorially decorated and lettered in gilt, top edge gilt

How Charles Scribner's Sons marked a first edition

• Pre-1930: Scribner seal/device plus month-and-year of publication on copyright page; first printings either carry matching dates on title page and copyright page or show no later printings noted.

Full Charles Scribner's Sons 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 US 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?

Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1905 is the true first of the expanded novel, with a firm date of 30 September 1905. The UK edition is Frederick Warne & Co., London, November 1905, illustrated by Harold H. Piffard - a genuinely different illustrated edition, separately collected, and offered in the trade as a 1905 first in its own right. First-thus trap: the 1905 Scribner book is the first appearance of the NOVEL, not of the story. The material began as 'Sara Crewe: or, What Happened at Miss Minchin's', serialised in St. Nicholas Magazine from December 1887 (illustrated by Reginald B. Birch) and published in book form in 1888 - which is precisely why the 1905 copyright page reads 'Copyright, 1888 and 1905'. Burnett then wrote the three-act play 'A Little Un-fairy Princess' (premiered December 1902) and, at her publisher's request, expanded the story into the 1905 novel, adding Lottie, Becky, Melchisedec and the enlarged garret material.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Scribner printed from the same plates for decades and the copyright page never changed, so a copy offered as a '1905 first' on the strength of the 'Published September, 1905' line alone is unverified - the 1917 Scribner reprint examined for this entry is identical there. Check the title-page imprint year. Later Grosset & Dunlap reprints and the 1963 J. B. Lippincott Tasha Tudor edition are separate editions rather than printings of the first and are frequently miscatalogued. A first must retain the colour frontispiece and all eleven Betts plates; no book-club issue of the 1905 first is documented.P-038869

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of A Little Princess a first edition?

A first edition of A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (Charles Scribner's Sons) is identified by: First edition: Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, published 30 September 1905, full title 'A Little Princess: Being the Whole Story of Sara Crewe Now Told for the First Time'.

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. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1905 is the true first of the expanded novel, with a firm date of 30 September 1905.

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

Scribner printed from the same plates for decades and the copyright page never changed, so a copy offered as a '1905 first' on the strength of the 'Published September, 1905' line alone is unverified - the 1917 Scribner reprint examined for this entry is identical there. Check the title-page imprint year. Later Grosset & Dunlap reprints and the 1963 J. B. Lippincott Tasha Tudor edition are separate editions rather than printings of the first and are frequently miscatalogued.

I have a first edition of A Little Princess — 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.