Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 3 Nov 2026.
Buy a copy: eBay
No sales recorded yet
We value a printing from verified sales of that exact printing, and none of the first impression has come to auction in our records so far. The chart and the value by condition appear here as soon as one does.
Pro members with this book on their wantlist are emailed when it sells under their price.
Blubber was first published in the United States by Bradbury Press of Scarsdale, New York, in 1974. The first British edition is the Heinemann issue, London, 1980, 126 pages, ISBN 0-434-92882-8, recorded by the British National Bibliography. Piccolo published a paperback in 1981 in association with Heinemann (ISBN 0-330-26329-3, 125 pages), whose catalogue record names Heinemann 1980 as the earlier London edition; later Macmillan Children's Books paperbacks also exist. A copy naming Bradbury Press is the American true first, not the British one. No source checked describes the Heinemann binding, jacket or price, so confirm the Heinemann imprint and the 1980 date on the title page and its reverse. Note that one library union catalogue attaches the Heinemann ISBN to the 1981 Piccolo record.
Before the 1920s. A first edition carries the year of publication on the title page, under the imprint. Reprints either lose that date or gain a notice such as "Second Edition" or "Second Impression", so a first is a copy with a dated title page and no reprint notice.
From the 1920s. The back of the title page carries a printing history. A first edition reads "First published" followed by the year, with no further lines; each later impression or new edition adds its own dated line beneath it.
Read the full guide to Heinemann first editions, decade by decade, and check your copy's copyright page against it. Our number line decoder reads the printing from the row of numbers.
We have not yet confirmed the issue points that tell this first impression from later ones. Until we do, compare your copy's title page and copyright page with the publisher, place and year above: any later printing or edition statement means it is not this one.
Know the points? Tell us. We publish them, with credit, once a second source agrees.
Heinemann, London, in 1980, in hardback.
Points of issue are listed only where at least two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 3 November 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.
For most books published since the 1920s, the original dust jacket carries a large share of the value, often most …
Read the guide →7 min readTo identify a first edition, check that your copy is the first printing of the first edition. Read the copyright …
Read the guide →6 min readBook condition grading uses a six-step trade scale: Fine, Near Fine, Very Good, Good, Fair and Poor. Collectors grade the …
Read the guide →