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Chronology
The first edition has been reprinted over 100 times. Follow the twisted and confusing chronology to determine which copies you have.
Points of Issue
Simple instructions for identifying First Editions and the coveted First Printings.

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Chronology of the First Edition

The information contained on the copyright page of the first editions is helpful in determining when a particular issue was printed. But how can a twenty-third printing be distinguished from a twenty-forth? Macmillan went through so many reprints in such a short time that even they seem to have become confused by it all!

This feature of the GWTWbooks web site will hopefully bring some clarity to the issue. But we'll definitely need the help of other GWTW collectors and experts out there. What we want to do is build a table with the contents from each printing's copyright page. When complete, this table will provide collectors with the identification points for each printing. The information in the table below is taken directly from the copyright page of various printings of GWTW from the GWTWbooks collection. The GWTWbooks collection is far from complete, however, so there are quite a few printings that left blank (indicated by yellow highlighting). If you happen to have some of the missing printings, please send in the information in the form of a scanned image of the copyright notice via e-mail, or a photocopy of same through the regular mail.

The intent is for this table to reflect all of the discernable differences between the copyright pages of each printing of the first edition. That includes every word, punctuation mark, and even differences in upper- and lower-case lettering. If you catch an error, please bring it to our attention. Following many of the copyright notices are notes that appear in red type. These notes point out the discrepancies and questions that might arise from them.

Ledgend
We have no information about editions with a yellow background. Can you supply some of the answers? Information about editions with a blue background comes from collections other than the GWTW Books collection. 
All other information in the table below comes from editions in the GWTW Books collection.
1st May, 1936
Set up and electrotyped.  Published May, 1936.
(May, 1936 printing is not mentioned on any of the later printings)
2nd June, 1936
Set up and electrotyped.  Published June, 1936.
3rd June, 1936 Reprint
Set up and electrotyped.  Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June, 1936.
4th June, 1936 (Twice)
 Note: Unable to verify the actual existence of this printing. Did not appear prior to the August 1936 (five times) printing.
5th July, 1936
Set up and electrotyped.  Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June 1936. July, 1936.
6th July, 1936 (Twice)
Set up and electrotyped.  Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June 1936. July, 1936.  (Twice.)
7th July, 1936 (Three times)
Set up and electrotyped.  Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June 1936. July, 1936.  (Three times.)
8th August, 1936
Set up and electrotyped.  Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June, 1936. July, 1936.  (Three times.)
August, 1936.
9th August, 1936 (Twice)
Set up and electrotyped.  Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June, 1936. July, 1936  (Three times.)
August, 1936 (Twice.)
10th August, 1936 (Three times)
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June, July (three times), August (three
times), 1936.
11th August, 1936 (Four times)
Set up and electrotyped.  Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June, 1936. July, 1936  (Three times.)
August, 1936 (Four Times.)
Note: capitalization of "Four Times"
12th August, 1936 (Five times)
Set up and electrotyped.  Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July  (three times),
August (five times), 1936.
Note : addition of "(twice)" to the June, 1936 listing - this is the first reference to second June reprint. Also, "1936" is placed after "(five times)" instead of the usual convention of after "August."
13th August, 1936 (Six times)
Set up and electrotyped.  Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July  (three times),
August (six times), 1936.
Note : Quite consistent with the previous printing.
14th September, 1936
Set up and electrotyped.  Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July  (three times),
August (six times)  September, 1936.
Note : Missing the comma between August and September.
15th September, 1936 (Twice)
Set up and electrotyped.  Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July  (three times),
August (six times)  September, 1936 (Twice).
Note: Comma before "September" is still missing.
16th September, 1936 (Three times)
Set up and electrotyped.  Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July  (three times),
August (six times)  Sept., 1936 (three times).
Note: "Sept." is abbreviated, and comma before "Sept." is still missing.
17th September, 1936 (Four times)
Set up and electrotyped.  Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July  (three times),
August (six times),  September, 1936 (four times).
Note: "September" is spelled out in full again, and the comma after August is back.
18th October, 1936
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice), July (three times),
August (six times), September (four times),
October, 1936.
Note: Very consistent with the previous printing.
19th October, 1936 (Twice)
Set up and electrotyped.  Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July  (three times),
August (six times),  September, 1936 (four times),
October, 1936 (twice).
Note: "September" is no longer abbreviated, and comma is as expected.
20th October, 1936 (Three times)
Set up and electrotyped.  Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July  (three times),
August (six times),  September, 1936 (four times),
October, 1936. (three times).
Note: Unneeded period after "1936."
21st October, 1936 (Four times)
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice), July (three times),
August (six times), September, 1936 (four times),
October, 1936 (four times).
22nd October, 1936 (Five times)
Set up and electrotyped.  Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July  (three times),
August (six times),  September, 1936 (four times),
October, 1936 (five times).
23rd October, 1936 (Six times)
Set up and electrotyped.  Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July  (three times),
August (six times),  September, 1936 (four times),
October, 1936 (six times).
24th October, 1936 (Seven times)
Set up and electrotyped.  Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July  (three times),
August (six times),  September (four times),
October, 1936. (seven times).
Note: Extra period on last line before "(seven times)"
25th November, 1936
Set up and electrotyped.  Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July  (three times),
August (six times),  September, 1936 (four times),
October, 1936. (six times), November, 1936.
Note: Error - October should be "seven times" - not "six times".
26th November, 1936 (Twice)
Set up and electrotyped.  Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July  (three times),
August (six times),  September  (four times),
October,  (seven times), November, 1936
(twice).
Note: October corrected to "seven times" and "1936" removed after "September" although the unneeded comma after "October" remains.
27th November, 1936 (Three times)
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July (three times),
August (six times),  September, 1936  (four times), Octo-
ber, 1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three times).
Note: "1936" inserted back after "October" and the "six times" error is re-introduced. "October" is hyphenated for a line break - probably to avoid awkward orphaned text as in the previous printing.
28th November, 1936 (Four times)
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice), July (three times),
August (six times), September (four times),
October, (seven times), November, 1936
(four times).
Note : Many of the printings that followed this one incorectly suggest that there were only three printings in November, 1936.
29th December, 1936
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July (three times),
August (six times),  September, 1936  (four times), Octo-
ber, 1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three times),
December, 1936.
Note: November, 1936 is listed as "three times" - not "four times".
30th December, 1936 (Twice)
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July (three times),
August (six times),  September  (four times),
October, (seven times), November, 1936
(four times), December, 1936 (twice).
Note: November, 1936 changed back to "four times" October changed back to "seven times", "1936" removed again after "September" and hyphenation removed from "October". 
31st January, 1937
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July (three times),
August (six times),  September  (four times),
October, (seven times), November (four
times), December, 1936 (twice), January, 1937.
Note: "1936 removed after "November".
32nd January, 1937 (Twice)
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July (three times),
August (six times),  September, 1936  (four times), Octo-
ber, 1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three times),
December, 1936; January, 1937 (twice).
Note: "1936" added back after "September", "October", and "November". The October "six times" error has returned, and only "three times" is listed for November. "October has once again been hyphenated. A semicolon (";") has been introduced - possibly to serve as a separator between the years.
33rd January, 1937 (Three times)
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July (three times),
August (six times),  September, 1936  (four times), Octo-
ber, 1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three times),
December, 1936; January, 1937 (three times).
Note: All errors from the previous printing were carried over into this one.
34th January, 1937 (Four times)
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July (three times),
August (six times),  September (four times),
October (seven times), November (four
times), December, 1936 (twice), January, 1937 (four times).
Note: October hyphenation has again been removed, and its count corrected to "seven times". "1936" removed from September, October, and November. November count has been corrected to "four times" and the semicolon is gone.
35th January, 1937 (Five times)
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July (three times),
August (six times),  September (four times),
October (seven times), November (four
times), December, 1936 (twice), January, 1937.
(Five times)
Note: The data is consistent with the previous printing, but there is a punctuation error - the period following "January, 1937" should have been placed after "(Five times)". Also, "Five" begins with a capital letter - a convention that has been avoided since the earliest printings.
36th January, 1937 (Six times)
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July (three times),
August (six times),  September (four times),
October (seven times), November (four
times), December, 1936 (twice), January, 1937
(Six times)
Note: The misplaced period after "January, 1937" has been removed from this printing. It should have been moved to the end of the list, following ""Six times" but it was not. The capitalization used in "Six times" has been carried over from the previous printing's "Five times".
37th February, 1937
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice), July (three times),
August (six times), September, 1936 (four times), Octo-
ber, 1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three times),
December, 1936; January, 1937 (three times). Feb-
ruary, 1937.
Note : Period before "February".
KM
38th February, 1937 (Twice)
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July (three times),
August (six times),  September, 1936 (four times), Octo-
ber, 1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three times)
December, 1936; January, 1937 (three times). Feb-
ruary, 1937 (twice).
Note: Two distinct styles are emerging -one containing the following elements:
     October hyphenation
     "1936" added after September, October, and November
     October showing "six times" instead of "seven times"
     November showing "three times" instead of "four times"
     Semicolon after the 1936 printings
and the other without the numerical errors, the extra occurrences of "1936" or the October hyphenation. This printing contains the elements of first style. It contains two additional errors as well! December, 1936 should be listed as "(twice)" and January, 1937 should show "Six times)".
39th February, 1937 (Three times)
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice), July (three times),
August (six times), September, 1936 (four times), Octo-
ber, 1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three times),
December, 1936; January, 1937 (three times). Feb-
ruary, 1937 (three times).
Note :
40th February, 1937 (Four times)
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July (three times),
August (six times),  September (four times),
October (seven times), November (four
times), December, 1936 (twice), January, 1937
(six times), February (four times)
Note: Here we have another instance of the more correct style. The capitalization has once again become completely consistent by changing January, 1937 to read "six times". There is one error, however. The period at the end is still missing.
41st March, 1937
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July (three times),
August (six times),  September (four times),
October (seven times), November (four
times), December, 1936 (twice), January, 1937
(six times), February (four times); March, 1937.
Note: Mostly consistent with the previous printing, except for two minor details. 1.) Period was added at the end. 2.) A semicolon was used between   February and March instead of a comma.
42nd May, 1937
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July (three times),
August (six times),  September, 1936  (four times),
October, 1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three
times), December, 1936;  January, 1937 (three
times), February, 1937 (four times), May, 1937.
Note: This appears to be a slight variation of the more error-prone style. It contains the incorrect counts for October and November of 1936, but it does not hyphenate "October". It has an incomplete count for December, 1936 (should be "twice") and January, 1937 (should be "six times"). More important, though, is that this printing - May, 1937 - will be missing from all of the following printings. This point was initially brought to our attention by Kathleen Marcaccio (Royal Oak, Michigan).
43rd October, 1937
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July (three times),
August (six times),  September  (four times),
October (seven times), November (four
times), December, 1936 (twice),  January, 1937
(six times), February (four times); March,
October, 1937.
Note: This printing uses the more accurate style, but please note that the previous printing - May, 1937 - is missing.
44th February, 1938
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July (three times),
August (six times),  September  (four times),
October (seven times), November (four
times), December, 1936 (twice),  January, 1937
(six times), February (four times); March,
October, 1937; February, 1938.
Note: Still missing May, 1937. Also, a second semicolon has been introduced to separate October, 1937 from February, 1938.
45th October, 1938
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July (three times),
August (six times),  September, 1936 (four times),
October, 1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three
times),  December, 1936 (twice); January, 1937
(six times), February (four times), March, October,
1937; February, 1938, October, 1938.
Note: This printing appears to combine elements from both of the commonly used prototypes. The October and November, 1936 counts are wrong, but the December, 1936 count is correct. May, 1937 is still missing. None of the month names are hyphenated, and "1936" has been added back to September, October, and November.
46th October, 1938 (Twice)
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July (three times),
August (six times),  September, 1936 (four times),
October, 1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three
times),  December, 1936 (twice); January, 1937
(six times), February (four times), March, October,
1937; February, 1938, October, 1938 (twice).
Note: Very consistent with the previous printing.
47th October, 1938 (Three times)
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July (three times),
August (six times),  September, 1936 (four times),
October, 1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three
times),  December, 1936 (twice); January, 1937
(six times), February (four times), March, October,
1937; February, 1938, October, 1938 (three times).
Note: Completely consistent with the previous printing, which means that no new errors were introduced, although previously noted errors have been carried over.
?? October, 1938 (Four times) ???
Note: This printing appears in the copyright statement that is printed in the Motion Picture Editions, but it does not appear in any of the first editions. We will not assign a sequence number unless it can be confirmed that this printing actually does exist.
48th November, 1938
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July (three times),
August (six times),  September  (four times), October
(six times), November (three times), December
(twice), 1936;  January (six times), February (four
times), March, October, 1937; February, October
(three times), November, 1938.
Note: Here we are introduced to a new convention, which is to list the reprint months and their respective counts without the year, then printing the year and a semicolon to indicate the year for all preceding months. This is effective, but previously introduced errors continue to be propagated - October and November, 1936 are each still off by one. May is still nowhere to be found.
49th November, 1938 (Twice)
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July (three times),
August (six times),  September, 1936 (four times),
October, 1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three
times),  December, 1936 (twice); January, 1937
(six times), February (four times), March, October,
1937; February, 1938, October, 1938 (three times),
November, 1938 (twice).
Note: Here, we see another flip-flop back to the more verbose template with lots of years specified. In fact, it appears to be an exact copy from the October, 1938 (Three times) printing, with November's count added on at the end.
50th December, 1938
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.  Re-
printed June (twice),  July (three times), August
(six times),  September, 1936 (four times), October,
1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three times),  De-
cember, 1936 (twice); January, 1937 (six times), Feb-
ruary (four times), March, October, 1937; February,
1938, October, 1938 (three times), November, 1938
(twice), December, 1938.
Note: This appears to be based upon the verbose template, but the typesetting has been completely re-worked such that the names of three months require hyphenation. The October and November, 1936 counts are still wrong, May, 1937 is still missing, etc.
?? December, 1938 (twice) ???
Note: This printing appears in the copyright statement that is printed in the Motion Picture Editions, but it does not appear in any of the first editions. We will not assign a sequence number unless it can be confirmed that this printing actually does exist.
51st November, 1939
Set up and electrotyped. Published June 1936. Re-
printed June (twice), July (three times), August
(six times), September, 1936 (four times), October,
1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three times), De-
cember, 1936 (twice); January, 1937 (six times), Feb-
ruary (four times), March, October, 1937; February,
1938, October, 1938 (three times), November, 1938
(twice), December, 1938; November, 1939.
Note : Nothing new introduced into this edition. It appears to be taken directly from the December, 1938 edition. Information about this edition courtesy Kathleen Marcaccio.
52nd December, 1939
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.  Re-
printed June (twice),  July (three times), August
(six times),  September, 1936 (four times), October,
1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three times),  De-
cember, 1936 (twice); January, 1937 (six times), Feb-
ruary (four times), March, October, 1937; February,
1938, October, 1938 (three times), November, 1938
(twice), December, 1938; November, December,
1939.
Note: Another copy that is consistent with the previous one.
53rd January, 1940
Set up and electrotyped. Published June 1936. Re-
printed June (twice), July (three times), August
(six times), September, 1936 (four times), October,
1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three times), De-
cember, 1936 (twice); January, 1937 (six times), Feb-
ruary (four times), March, October, 1937; February,
1938, October, 1938 (three times), November, 1938
(twice), December, 1938; November, December,
1939; January, 1940.
Note: This has become quite a run of consistency. Just another month (and year) added to the end of the previous edition, exactly as one would expect.
54th March, 1940
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.  Re-
printed June (twice),  July (three times), August
(six times),  September, 1936 (four times), October,
1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three times),  De-
cember, 1936 (twice); January, 1937 (six times), Feb-
ruary (four times), March, October, 1937; February,
1938, October, 1938 (three times), November, 1938
(twice), December, 1938; November, December,
1939; January, March, 1940.
55th November, 1941
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.  Re-
printed June (twice),  July (three times), August
(six times),  September, 1936 (four times), October,
1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three times),  De-
cember, 1936 (twice); January, 1937 (six times), Feb-
ruary (four times), March, October, 1937; February,
1938, October, 1938 (three times), November, 1938
(twice), December, 1938; November, December,
1939; January, March, 1940; November, 1941.
Note: Macmillan seems to be getting some consistency now that they have time to catch their breath between printings. While the consistency from printing to printing appears to be getting more consistent, however, the consistency within the copyright statement itself is still lacking. Some months are accompanied by the year, while others are not. The use of the semicolon to separate the years is helpful.
56th June, 1942
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July (three times),
August (six times),  September, 1936 (four times),
October, 1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three
times),  December, 1936 (twice); January, 1937
(six times), February (four times), March, October,
1937; February, 1938, October, 1938 (three times),
November, 1938 (twice); June, 1942.
Note: Instead of building on the consistency attained in the previous two printings, the copyright is changed again. No hyphenation is present this time, but the errors in the counts for October and November, 1936 are still being carried forward. May, 1937 is still missing, and the following months are also unaccounted for: December, 1938, November, 1939, December, 1939, January, 1940, March, 1940, and November, 1941!
57th May, 1943
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July (three times),
August (six times),  September, 1936 (four times),
October, 1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three
times),  December, 1936 (twice); January, 1937
(six times), February (four times), March, October,
1937; February, 1938, October, 1938 (three times),
November, 1938 (twice); June, 1942; May, 1943.
Note: What a time to become totally consistent! This printing is copied verbatim from the previous printing - along with all of its errors and omissions!
58th July, 1943
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice),  July (three times),
August (six times),  September, 1936 (four times),
October, 1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three
times),  December, 1936 (twice); January, 1937
(six times), February (four times), March, October,
1937; February, 1938, October, 1938 (three times),
November, 1938 (twice); June, 1942; May, 1943;
July, 1943.
Note: This copy maintains consistency with the previous printing.
59th August, 1943
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice), July (three times),
August (six times), September, 1936 (four times),
October, 1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three
times), December, 1936 (twice); January, 1937
(six times), February (four times), March, October,
1937; February, 1938, October, 1938 (three times),
November, 1938 (twice); June, 1942; May 1943;
July, 1943; August, 1943.
Note : This printing appears in the copyright notice of the September, 1943 printing - and nowhere else.
60th September, 1943
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Reprinted June (twice), July (three times),
August (six times), September, 1936 (four times),
October, 1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three
times), December, 1936 (twice); January, 1937
(six times), February (four times), March, October,
1937; February, 1938, October, 1938 (three times),
November, 1938 (twice); June, 1942; May 1943;
July, 1943; August, 1943; September, 1943.
Note : This printing is not referenced in the copyright statements of any later printings.
61st April, 1944
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.  Re-
printed June (twice),  July (three times), August
(six times),  September, 1936 (four times), October,
1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three times),  De-
cember, 1936 (twice); January, 1937 (six times), Feb-
ruary (four times), March, October, 1937; February,
1938, October, 1938 (three times), November, 1938
(twice), December, 1938; November, December,
1939; January, March, 1940; November, 1941; April, 1944.
Note: In order to avoid missing all of the months that were overlooked in the May, 1943 printing, the typesetter apparently went back to the November, 1941 printing, with its multiple hyphenations. In the process, the intervening printings (June, 1942 and May, 1943) were omitted.
62nd June, 1944
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.  Re-
printed June (twice),  July (three times), August
(six times),  September, 1936 (four times), October,
1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three times),  De-
cember, 1936 (twice); January, 1937 (six times), Feb-
ruary (four times), March, October, 1937; February,
1938, October, 1938 (three times), November, 1938
(twice), December, 1938; November, December,
1939; January, March, 1940; November, 1941; April,
June, 1944.
Note: This appears to be a "cut and paste" from the previous printing, making the addition of the current one a very simple matter. No corrections were made - but at lease no additional errors appear to have crept in.
63rd February, 1945
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.  Re-
printed June (twice),  July (three times), August
(six times),  September, 1936 (four times), October,
1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three times),  De-
cember, 1936 (twice); January, 1937 (six times), Feb-
ruary (four times), March, October, 1937; February,
1938, October, 1938 (three times), November, 1938
(twice), December, 1938; November, December,
1939; January, March, 1940; November, 1941; April,
June, 1944; February, 1945.
Note: Consistency has been attained once again from one printing to the next. This is three printings in a row the have simply built on the previous information - right or wrong.
64th October, 1945
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.  Re-
printed June (twice),  July (three times), August
(six times),  September, 1936 (four times), October,
1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three times),  De-
cember, 1936 (twice); January, 1937 (six times), Feb-
ruary (four times), March, October, 1937; February,
1938, October, 1938 (three times), November, 1938
(twice), December, 1938; November, December,
1939; January, March, 1940; November, 1941; April,
June, 1944; February, October, 1945.
Note: This is four printings in a row the have simply built on the previous information - right or wrong.
65th July, 1946
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.  Re-
printed June (twice),  July (three times), August
(six times),  September, 1936 (four times), October,
1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three times),  De-
cember, 1936 (twice); January, 1937 (six times), Feb-
ruary (four times), March, October, 1937; February,
1938, October, 1938 (three times), November, 1938
(twice), December, 1938; November, December,
1939; January, March, 1940; November, 1941; April,
June, 1944; February, October, 1945; July, 1946.
66th May, 1947
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.  Re-
printed June (twice),  July (three times), August
(six times),  September, 1936 (four times), October,
1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three times),  De-
cember, 1936 (twice); January, 1937 (six times), Feb-
ruary (four times), March, October, 1937; February,
1938, October, 1938 (three times), November, 1938
(twice), December, 1938; November, December,
1939; January, March, 1940; November, 1941; April,
June, 1944; February, October, 1945; July, 1946;
May, 1947.
67th June, 1948
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.  Re-
printed June (twice),  July (three times), August
(six times),  September, 1936 (four times), October,
1936 (six times), November, 1936 (three times),  De-
cember, 1936 (twice); January, 1937 (six times), Feb-
ruary (four times), March, October, 1937; February,
1938, October, 1938 (three times), November, 1938
(twice), December, 1938; November, December,
1939; January, March, 1940; November, 1941; April,
June, 1944; February, October, 1945; July, 1946;
May, 1947; June, 1948.
Why are there so many discrepancies?

The most common explanation is that Macmillan was just not careful, and allowed several mistakes and discrepancies to be introduced on the copyright pages of several printings. This makes me think that someone was not careful when typesetting and proof-reading this copy of the book. Perhaps they copied the details from the copyright page of the previous printing, and added one month to it. This allowed errors to propagate. It also appears that little care was given to verify that information was only carried over from the previous printing. This is made evident by the fact that often it appears that mistakes were corrected, and then re-introduced in later printings.

Does it really matter? It only matters if you're trying to figure out what you've got in your GWTW collection!

Eventually, Macmillan began to state explicitly which printing a given edition was. Rather than reprinting the entire convoluted chronology and letting the the owner count the number of reprints, Macmillan began to simply state the date printed and the reprint number. Macmillan must have found it as confusing as we find it today. Despite the 67 printings that are documented above, as well as two additional printings that are referenced only in the Motion Picture Editions, the October, 1949 printing was dubbed "65th printing" by the publisher.
65th Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936.
Sixty Fifth Printing, October, 1949.
66th Sixty Sixth Printing,  1951.
67th Sixty Seventh Printing,  1953.
68th Sixty-Eighth Printing, 1955
69th Sixty-Ninth Printing,  1958
70th Seventieth Printing, 1960
71st Seventy-first Printing, 1961
72nd Seventy-second Printing, 1962
73rd Seventy-third Printing,  1963
74th Seventy-fourth Printing,  1965
75th SEVENTY-FIFTH PRINTING   1966
76th SEVENTY-SIXTH PRINTING   1966
77th SEVENTY-SEVENTH PRINTING   1967
78th SEVENTY-EIGHTH PRINTING   1968
79th SEVENTY-NINTH PRINTING   1968
80th EIGHTIETH PRINTING 1969
81st EIGHTY-FIRST PRINTING   1971
82nd EIGHTY-SECOND PRINTING   1973
83rd EIGHTY-THIRD PRINTING   1974
84th EIGHTY-FOURTH PRINTING  1975
85th EIGHTY-FIFTH PRINTING  1976
86th EIGHTY-SIXTH PRINTING  1977
87th EIGHTY-SEVENTH PRINTING  1979
Later editions followed an even different approach. This most recent method is one that many major publishers use. A series of numbers are printed on the copyright page. The order of the numbers makes no difference. The lowest number present indicates the number of times the book has been reprinted. Using this method, I have been able to identify the following copies from a quick look through the GWTWbooks collection:
88th 96   95   94   93   92    91   90   89   88
89th 96   95   94   93   92    91   90   89
90th 96   95   94   93   92   91   90
91st 96   95   94   93   92   91
92nd 96   95   94   93   92
93rd 96   95   94   93
94th 100  99  98  97  96  95   94
95th 100  99  98  97  96  95
96th 100  99  98  97  96
97th 100  99  98  97
98th 100  99  98
99th 100  99
100th 110  109  108  107  106  105  104   103   102   101   100
101st 110  109  108  107  106  105  104   103   102   101
102nd 110  109  108  107  106  105  104   103   102 
103rd 110  109  108  107  106  105  104   103
104th 110  109  108  107  106  105  104
105th 110  109  108  107  106  105
106th 110  109  108  107  106
When Scribner became the publisher, they introduced another pattern, with odd numbers starting on the left, and even numbers on the right. They ascend toward the middle of the line.
107th 107   109   110   108
108th  
109th 109  110
110th 110
111th 111   113   115   117   119   120   118   116   114   112
112th  
113th  
If your collection contains some of the missing printings, your contributions of information will be welcome!

Special thanks to Kathleen Marcaccio of Royal Oak, Michigan, for her significant contributions of information to this effort.

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