Is My Copy of Struwwelpeter (Lustige Geschichten und drollige Bilder) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The decisive point is that the 1845 first does not bear the word Struwwelpeter in its title at all
• It reads "Lustige Geschichten und drollige Bilder mit 15 schön kolorirten Tafeln für Kinder von 3–6 Jahren", Frankfurt am Main: Literarische Anstalt (J. Rütten), 1845, published October 1845 under the pseudonym "Reimerich Kinderlieb" — note the 1845 orthography "kolorirten", not the modern "kolorierten"
• The 1845 first contains only SIX stories, on 15 single-sided, hand-coloured lithographed plates reproduced faithfully from Hoffmann's manuscript; the Struwwelpeter figure stands at the END of the book rather than opening it, and the stories of Paulinchen, Zappel-Philipp, Hans Guck-in-die-Luft and the flying Robert are entirely absent
• The verse contents summary printed on the cover ends with the pseudonym
• The Universitätsbibliothek Frankfurt holds a copy (shelfmark W 16) with a complete digital facsimile, which is the practical point of comparison for any candidate
• Genuine 1845 copies are seldom encountered; the overwhelming majority of books offered as an "Erstausgabe" are later editions or modern facsimiles

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. 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.
3. Verify this is the American true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. 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.
5. 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?

German-language original, Frankfurt 1845 — and the edition sequence is the whole story on this title. Second edition 1846: pseudonym changed to "Heinrich Kinderlieb", two stories added. THIRD EDITION, 1847: first to carry "Der Struwwelpeter" in the title — the Struwwelpeter title dates from 1847. Fifth edition, also 1847: expanded to the definitive ten stories on 24 plates and the first to bear Hoffmann's full name. FIRST ENGLISH: "The English Struwwelpeter; or, Pretty Stories and Funny Pictures for Little Children", Leipzig: Friedrich Volckmar, 1848, an anonymous translation — note it is a Leipzig-printed English book, not a London one, and it is a first-in-English rather than any kind of true first. An American "Slovenly Peter" followed in 1849.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Every edition from the third (1847) onward titled "Der Struwwelpeter" is a later edition — the 1845 title wording is the discriminator, and a title page reading "Der Struwwelpeter" rules the copy out immediately. Ten stories rules it out as well; ten is the post-1847 form. Modern "Originalfassung von 1845" reprints (Thienemann/Esslinger and others) reproduce the 1845 text and title faithfully and are the commonest thing mistaken for the first — check for a modern ISBN and modern paper. One correction for accuracy: Wikipedia states the first edition contained ten stories, which is wrong; German scholarly sources (kinderundjugendmedien.de) and the Universitätsbibliothek Frankfurt agree on six stories and 15 plates for 1845.P-044058

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Struwwelpeter (Lustige Geschichten und drollige Bilder) a first edition?

A first edition of Struwwelpeter (Lustige Geschichten und drollige Bilder) by Heinrich Hoffmann (Literarische Anstalt) is identified by: The decisive point is that the 1845 first does not bear the word Struwwelpeter in its title at all.

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. German-language original, Frankfurt 1845 — and the edition sequence is the whole story on this title.

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

Every edition from the third (1847) onward titled "Der Struwwelpeter" is a later edition — the 1845 title wording is the discriminator, and a title page reading "Der Struwwelpeter" rules the copy out immediately. Ten stories rules it out as well; ten is the post-1847 form. Modern "Originalfassung von 1845" reprints (Thienemann/Esslinger and others) reproduce the 1845 text and title faithfully and are the commonest thing mistaken for the first — check for a modern ISBN and modern paper.

I have a first edition of Struwwelpeter (Lustige Geschichten und drollige Bilder) — 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.