The Caldecott Collector: Wee Gillis 1939 Honor Book: Caldecott & Book Collector Notes

1939 Honor: Wee Gillis, illustrated by Robert Lawson, text by Munro Leaf. First published by Viking in 1938.

Original price of $1.50 should appear on the top right corner of the dustjacket.
Back flap of dustjacket advertises The Story of Ferdinand for the price of "$I.00."
Back of dustjacket has a white square with a full-length picture of Wee Gillis. He is standing with his back to the viewer and looking over his shoulder at you.
The second printing was apparently only a few months after the first.
Despite the tear in the picture below, you can see that the book cover has the same plaid pattern as the dustjacket. It also has the same portrait of Wee Gillis contained by a white box, However, it does not have the title or any other words.
The spine of the book is yellow with the title, author, illustrator, and publisher in green letters.

Viking 1st Edition with dustjacket
courtesy of Midway Book Store (ABAA), St. Paul, MN

The copyright page of the 1st edition simply says "First published in September 1938," with no other printings listed.
The title spread appears as seen below, with 1938 under the publisher, The Viking Press.

1st edition printing/copyright note and title page spread,

In addition to the regular first edition, Viking released a limited "Thistle Edition." Only 525 copies were printed, and each carries the signatures of Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson.

The Thistle Edition is distinctive. The cover is wrapped in a woven brown/tan burlap cloth. The title and author/illustrator credit is written in on a dark green plate. A gold thistle appears in the center of the plate.
Inside, there is a note about the edition with the autographs.
The book came wrapped in a glassine slipcover and had an outer slipcase (see below), which was the same brown/tan color as the book cover and had a green thistle imprinted on the front and back. The pictures below show all of these features.
Cover of the Thistle Edition

Thistle Edition: Title page, front endpaper with limited edition # and autographs, inside cover, and copyright page. (From my edition)

Slipcase for Thistle Edition,
courtesy of All Booked Up, Louisville, KY

Looking for Lawson? Check out these links for a full bibliography. Key works include his 1938 Caldecott Honor Four and Twenty Blackbirds: Old Nursery Rhymes; his 1941 Caldecott Winner They Were Strong and Good; and his 1936 The Story of Ferdinand, a beloved classic that he also penned with Munro Leaf.