First Edition Identification Points

First Edition Little House Fetches $9775 at PBA Galleries Auction The first edition copy of the 1943 Caldecott Medal winning book The Little House we described in our May 2007 blog post sold for $9775 at the July 12, 2007 PBA Galleries children’s book auction. The first edition The Little House is very difficult to … Read more

First Edition Curious George Fetches $21850 at PBA Galleries Auction The first edition copy of Curious George we described in our May 2007 blog post sold for $21,850 at the July 12, 2007 PBA Galleries children’s book auction. The first edition Curious George is quite rare, the PBA copy being the first to surface at … Read more

A first edition copy of Pumpkin Moonshine, Tasha Tudor’s first book, is coming up for auction on July 12, 2007 at PBA Galleries. Published by Oxford University Press in 1938, Pumpkin Moonshine first edition books do not surface for sale very often. There is currently only one first edition book with dust jacket on the … Read more

A first edition copy of The Gremlins, the 1943 book written by Roald Dahl, is coming up for auction on July 12, 2007 at PBA Galleries. A Walt Disney Production published by Random House in 1943, The Gremlins first edition books do not surface for sale very often. There are currently five first edition books … Read more

First Edition Identification The Happy Lion Roars; illustrated by Roger Duvoisin, written by Louise Fatio; Whittlesly House, 1957. Childrens Picturebook Price Guide: $160 Very Good+ The Happy Lion Roars is the third of the Happy Lion books, and the sixth of eighteen books Roger Duvoisin and his wife, Louise Fatio, worked on together. The Happy … Read more

First Edition Identification A Doll For Marie; illustrated by Roger Duvoisin, written by Louise Fatio; Whittlesly House, 1957. Childrens Picturebook Price Guide: $180 Very Good+ (with the supplemental doll book) A Doll For Marie is an interesting collector piece because of the identical miniature copy of the book inserted in a back pocket (see photo). … Read more

First Edition Identification Petunia’s Christmas; written and illustrated by Roger Duvoisin; Borzoi/Knopf, 1952. Childrens Picturebook Price Guide: $240 Very Good+ (updated) Continuing our Duvoisin theme (see Petunia), Petunia’s Christmas is the third of the Petunia books written and illustrated by Roger Duvoisin. The Petunia books: Petunia 1950 Petunia And The Song 1951 Petunia’s Christmas 1952 … Read more

First Edition Identification Petunia; written and illustrated by Roger Duvoisin; Borzoi/Knopf, 1950. Childrens Picturebook Price Guide: $320 Very Good+ (updated) Roger Duvoisin illustrated over one hundred books in a career spanning five decades. Scribner published Duvoisin’s first book in 1932, A Little Boy Was Drawing (Scribner, 1932; $280 VG+). This unedited first effort made little … Read more

Identifying Contemporary First Edition Books Book collectors and booksellers are meticulous in their meaning of “First Edition.” In the book collecting industry, “First Edition” is always meant to be the first printing of the first edition of the book.  It is very important for the novice book collector or bookseller to understand that the meaning … Read more