# Is "A Garden of Earthly Delights" by Joyce Carol Oates a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Garden of Earthly Delights by Joyce Carol Oates (Vanguard Press, 1967) is identified by: First of the Wonderland Quartet. US Vanguard, 1967 is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First of the Wonderland Quartet
- Vanguard Press, New York, 1967 on the title and copyright pages, with no statement of a later printing
- Green cloth, approximately 440 pp
- Original pictorial dust jacket with the price present on the front flap
- A 1968 National Book Award finalist
- Publisher imprint reads Vanguard Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Joyce Carol Oates |
| Publisher | Vanguard Press |
| Year | 1967 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First of the Wonderland Quartet |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First of the Wonderland Quartet. Vanguard Press, New York, 1967 on the title and copyright pages, with no statement of a later printing. Green cloth, approximately 440 pp. Original pictorial dust jacket with the price present on the front flap. A 1968 National Book Award finalist.

## Is this the true first?
US Vanguard, 1967 is the true first. Oates substantially revised the text for the 2003 Modern Library edition, so the 1967 Vanguard is the textual first; note the actual title is 'A Garden of Earthly Delights' (some listings drop the leading article).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club issues lack the price on the jacket flap, often carry a blind-stamp to the rear board and a gutter code on the last text page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Garden of Earthly Delights* by Joyce Carol Oates a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-garden-of-earthly-delights
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.