Charlotte's Web

Charlotte’s Web (1952) by E. B. White is a piece of classic children’s literature. Fern Arable, a young girl growing up on a farm, pleads with her father to not butcher the runt of a recently birthed litter of pigs. After being spared, Wilbur the pig spends some time as Fern’s pet before being sold to her uncle, Homer Zuckerman, at which point Wilbur’s adventure truly begins. After being rejected by the other animals at Homer’s farm, Wilbur strikes up an unlikely friendship with Charlotte, a spider whose silky web resides near the pig. When Wilbur learns that he is to be butchered, his arachnid companion hatches a daring plan to save his life. The famous novel has been adapted into a movie, video game, stage production, and is soon to be made into a television series. A feat of storytelling, Charlotte’s Web won the Laura Ingall’s Wilder Medal and was a Newbery Honor book in 1953.

Charlotte's Web is one of the best-selling paperbacks of all time. E.B. White rarely signed books, so a signed first edition can run anywhere from a few thousand dollars, to over $25,000.

The first edition of Charlotte’s Web was published on October 15, 1952. The dust jacket artist and illustrator is Garth Williams. This edition was published by Harper & Brothers in New York, N.Y., in contrast to some later editions, which were published by Harper & Row. There are three primary identifying points to this edition. First, “I-B” is towards the bottom of the copyright page, a code that identifies the publication date. Second, “First Edition” is stated above the “I-B” code on the copyright page. Finally, the original price of $2.50 is shown on the front flap of the dust jacket.