The D&D Basic Set Chronology:
1) Cheesy little bound pamphlets to expand the Chainmail rules (Original D&D, 1973)
2) Blue Box w/ Sutherland Red Dragon cover art (1977)
3) Fuchsia Box w/ Otus Green Dragon cover art (1981) (my first set)
4) Red Box w/ Elmore Fighter vs Red Dragon cover art (1983) (the Bargle set)

So I learned D&D with a pre-Bargle set. Which makes me feel older than I do already. *grin*

FYI you can look up all the D&D rule set history and trivia you never wanted to know here:
http://www.acaeum.com/DDIndexes/SetPages/Basic.html