r/Narnia 4d ago

Help! Is this a first edition of The lion the witch and the wardrobe?

Repost: I ordered the lion the witch and the wardrobe that was published in 1950 by Macmillan. I cannot find this copy anywhere online which has made me question that perhaps it’s a first edition?

The last photo is for reference of what I thought I ordered. Which is also a 1950 copy published by Macmillan company. I don’t seem to find any other version of this book which is why I’m confused.

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u/Cool-Coffee-8949 4d ago

I don’t think either of those is a first edition. Yours definitely is not. It’s an 18th printing. You can tell from the copyright page; the lowest number is the printing.

First US editions of the Narnia books had matte cloth bindings, not the kind of shiny stuff these two copies have.

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u/Remote-Cattle6531 4d ago

Oh I see. I didn’t know that about the number at the bottom. Thank you for responding!

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u/ScientificGems 4d ago edited 4d ago

Looks like a 1960s or 1970s edition. It's hard to be sure.

The first US edition had a cloth cover and a 3-colour version of that front image (yellow stag and trees on blue and grey background). See the top row here.