3 Robert McCloskey first editions are documented on this shelf, from Make Way for Ducklings (1941) to Blueberries for Sal (1948) across 2 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that Robert McCloskey title from later printings and book-club copies — the publisher and year to expect, the number-line or edition-statement conventions, and the tells that show up in online listings.
Identification only, per the house rule: no prices and no appraisals here. Checking a Robert McCloskey copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.
- Make Way for Ducklings — 1941 · The Viking PressFirst edition: The Viking Press, 1941. Format is a tall, UPRIGHT (portrait) folio of about 9 x 12 inches — not oblong; original tan/beige cloth, sepia lithographed illustrations. First-printing test: the copyright page reads 'First published August 1941' with no other printings listed. The first-issue dust jacket has NO Caldecott Medal (McCloskey won the 1942 Medal) on the front panel or flap and retains the…. US Viking is the true first; there is no competing earlier edition. Two tells mark the first issue: (1) the copyright page limited to 'First published August 1941' with no later-printing line, and (2) the pre-Medal jacket (no Caldecott Medal, price present at the flap). Because wartime reprints use similar tan cloth, identification hinges on the copyright statement and the medal-free jacket rather than the binding. The second printing added the Caldecott Medal to the jacket flap; later trade and book-club printings update the copyright page (adding printing history) and their jackets carry the gold Medal and usually lack the first-issue price. The book block and cloth can look similar, so confirm a first by the 'First published August 1941'-only copyright line and the medal-free, priced jacket.
- Homer Price — 1943 · The Viking PressThe Viking Press, New York, 1943; McCloskey's first novel, octavo, 149 pages, illustrated throughout in black and white by the author. First-printing point: the copyright page carries Viking's stated-publication line, 'First published 1943' (Viking's house form from 1937 was 'First published by the Viking Press in [year]'), with no printing statement beneath it. Viking noted subsequent printings, so any added…. US-only true first — The Viking Press, New York, 1943. McCloskey was an American author published by Viking; no British or foreign-language edition precedes it. The UK has only later issues, notably the Puffin paperback (1982) and the Puffin Modern Classics reissue (2005), both firsts thus and not collected as the first edition. Homer Price completes the McCloskey run alongside Make Way for Ducklings (Viking, New…. No specific book-club issue is documented for Homer Price in the sources consulted. The routine reprint tells are Viking's own later-printing statements on the copyright page and, on modern copies, an ISBN and a number line. Later Viking Books for Young Readers hardcovers and Puffin paperbacks all carry the 1943 copyright date but state their own printing; the bare 'First published 1943' line with nothing beneath….
- Blueberries for Sal — 1948 · The Viking PressFirst printing states 'First published by the Viking Press in September, 1948' on the copyright page with no later-printing reference; oblong format, full tan cloth with the blue Sal illustration matching the jacket, blue duotone illustrations, with the original price present on the jacket flap. US Viking Press 1948 is the true first; a 1949 Caldecott Honor. (Make Way for Ducklings is already in the live index; this is a distinct McCloskey title.). Book-club editions carry a blind-stamp and are unpriced; later printings drop the 'First published by the Viking Press in September, 1948' statement.
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