I love collecting books, especially more rare or first editions. Usually I upgrade my copies as I find earlier ones or copies in better condition. But not in this case. A few months ago I was gifted a first edition and first printing of Stormy, Misty’s Foal by Marguerite Henry. Stormy was Henry’s twelfth published book and the sequel to Misty of Chincoteague. Stormy hadn’t been her second book to feature Chincoteague Ponies though.
In 1951, her nonfiction book, Album of Horses, was published. It featured beautiful color and black and white illustrations by Wesley Dennis about various types of horses. Misty was featured in the Chincoteague Pony section and the paintings portrayed Misty with her real markings too. The first edition and reprints of Misty of Chincoteague that feature the original book artwork, show Misty having a circle around her eye, which didn’t reflect the real pony’s markings. Breyer’s Misty of Chincoteague, minus a few versions, show that same circle marking.
Misty of Chincoteague was adapted into a movie, so picture books were written about it. While the books don’t have an author on the cover (other than usually Misty), I can’t imagine that Marguerite Henry didn’t write them.
Stormy, Misty’s Foal, was published in 1963. The original artwork has Misty and Stormy’s real markings. This was my first hardback. It has the original dust jacket, but it’s price clipped. It looks exactly like the first printing, and in some ways this one is in the better condition. But the copyright page signifies it’s a fifth printing and came out in 1966, or three years after it was first published.
The second one is in the worst condition of the three, but I think it’s cool. It doesn’t have a dust jacket. It’s still an early copy, since it’s a fourth printing. Usually when books are inscribed by someone other than the author or someone incredibly famous, it really doesn’t add anything special to the book except to the person it’s written to. There’s lore in book world of Ernest Hemingway and Scott Fitzgerald signing each other’s books. Those would be priceless if they do exist. This copy of Stormy was inscribed by Misty II and the Allens. The Allens are very involved in Chincoteague Ponies and also owned Misty II, who was made into a Breyer horse. Her daughters, Misty’s May Day Twister and Misty’s Black Mist, were also a part of the same Breyer set.
My newest one, as mentioned earlier, is a first edition, first printing. First editions vary by publisher and era. There’s such a range in how to tell. Sometimes it’s having First Edition printed inside the cover while other times it’s the dust jacket price. Sometimes the hardback is the collectible one, but some books came out in mass market before ever having a hardback edition printed. 1970s and 1980s horror and sci-fi are an example of this since so many came out as mass markets first. Since they were printed on cheaper paper, finding some books in nice condition is quite the find. I find all of this to be so much fun.
So why is this a first edition? On the copyright page, it has an A. Which is a marker of a first edition, first printing. The rest of the page is blank, compared to the later editions which have which printing they are.
So that’s a bit into my first edition of Stormy, Misty’s Foal and a few of the Henry’s Chincoteague Pony books.
Kristian Beverly 