Is My Copy of Bambi (Bambi: Eine Lebensgeschichte aus dem Walde) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first is the German-language "Bambi: Eine Lebensgeschichte aus dem Walde", Ullstein Verlag, Berlin, 1923, following serialisation in the Vienna newspaper Neue Freie Presse from 15 August to 21 October 1922
• Dealers describe the original binding as quarter light blue cloth over pictorial boards printed with a watercolour forest scene, the spine lettered in blue, with a red top edge; the 1923 Ullstein text is unillustrated
• Copies of the 1923 are scarce for a documented reason rather than a market one: the book was banned in Nazi Germany in 1935 as a political allegory on the treatment of Jews in Europe, and copies were burned
• FOR THE FIRST ENGLISH: Simon & Schuster, New York, 1928, translated by Whittaker Chambers with a foreword by John Galsworthy and illustrated by Kurt Wiese (frontispiece and 25 plates), 209 pp., green cloth lettered in gilt, with a vignette title page printed in black and green; the trade issue's title-page verso reads "First printing in America, July 1928", and later printings do not carry that line
• One point to check before calling any 1928 Simon & Schuster copy the first English printing: ABAA dealers record a limited issue of 1,000 copies carrying a limitation leaf that PRECEDES the S&S trade issue, so the limitation leaf, not the July 1928 statement, is the senior point in English

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

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?

Original-language precedence: the German Ullstein (Berlin) 1923 is the true first. Both English editions are translations and both are collected in their own right, so both should be named. Simon & Schuster (New York, 1928) precedes Jonathan Cape (London, 1928), which makes the Simon & Schuster the first edition in English and the Cape the first UK edition; the Chambers translation and Galsworthy foreword are common to both. Anglophone catalogues and dealers very frequently list the 1928 Simon & Schuster as "the first edition" of Bambi — that is a first-in-English, not the true first, and it is the standard trap on this title.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted. The dominant reprint population is post-1942, driven by the Walt Disney film: any copy carrying Disney artwork, film credit, or film tie-in wording is a reprint and unrelated to either 1923 or 1928. On Simon & Schuster copies, the absence of the "First printing in America, July 1928" statement on the title-page verso indicates a later printing. On German copies, later Ullstein and post-war reissues (the novel was republished in Vienna in 1926) are not the 1923 Berlin first.P-044050

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Bambi (Bambi: Eine Lebensgeschichte aus dem Walde) a first edition?

A first edition of Bambi (Bambi: Eine Lebensgeschichte aus dem Walde) by Felix Salten (Ullstein) is identified by: The true first is the German-language "Bambi: Eine Lebensgeschichte aus dem Walde", Ullstein Verlag, Berlin, 1923, following serialisation in the Vienna newspaper Neue Freie Presse from 15 August to 21 October 1922.

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. Original-language precedence: the German Ullstein (Berlin) 1923 is the true first.

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

No book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted. The dominant reprint population is post-1942, driven by the Walt Disney film: any copy carrying Disney artwork, film credit, or film tie-in wording is a reprint and unrelated to either 1923 or 1928. On Simon & Schuster copies, the absence of the "First printing in America, July 1928" statement on the title-page verso indicates a later printing.

I have a first edition of Bambi (Bambi: Eine Lebensgeschichte aus dem Walde) — 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.