Is My Copy of Pollyanna a First Edition?

The points of issue

• L. C. Page firsts are identified by the impression statement printed on the copyright page (verso of the title leaf); the first printing reads "First Impression, February, 1913" and names no later impression
• Because Page reprinted from the same setting continuously, a 1913-dated copy is very often a later impression — the twelfth impression is dated October 1913 and the twentieth impression February 1914, so the stated month is decisive, not the title-page year
• Later impressions list the accumulated impression sequence on the copyright page (the Library of Congress copy runs "First impression, February, 1913... forty-seventh impression, January, 1920")
• Collation is reported as x, 310, [6], 10 pp., including publisher's advertisements, with a frontispiece and full-page black-and-white plates by Stockton Mulford
• Binding is not a printing point: publisher's cloth is reported in a copper/pink watered or "wave" cloth stamped in gilt and in a pink fleur-de-lys cloth, and the Internet Archive's copy in pink watered cloth is the twentieth impression
• A secondary tell: the 1913 first carries the "L. C. Page & Company" imprint, while copies imprinted "The Page Company" reflect the firm's later name and are later impressions

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 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?

US L. C. Page & Company, Boston, 1913 is the true first. No UK or other-language edition precedes it — Page was the originating publisher. The trap here is terminological rather than geographic: every one of Page's forty-seven impressions through January 1920 is the "first edition" in the strict bibliographical sense (one setting of type), so dealer copy reading "first edition" routinely describes a later impression. Only the stated February 1913 first impression is the first printing.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition is documented in the sources consulted. The practical reprint tell is the copyright-page impression statement: any month later than February 1913, or a list of multiple impressions, marks a reprint. Copies with no impression statement at all, or with "The Page Company" imprint, are later still.P-044105

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Pollyanna a first edition?

A first edition of Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter (L. C. Page & Company) is identified by: L. C. Page firsts are identified by the impression statement printed on the copyright page (verso of the title leaf); the first printing reads "First Impression, February, 1913" and names no later impression.

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. US L. C. Page & Company, Boston, 1913 is the true first.

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

No book-club edition is documented in the sources consulted. The practical reprint tell is the copyright-page impression statement: any month later than February 1913, or a list of multiple impressions, marks a reprint. Copies with no impression statement at all, or with "The Page Company" imprint, are later still.

I have a first edition of Pollyanna — 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.