Is My A Streetcar Named Desire a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first printing, New Directions, 1947, 171 pp., with a frontispiece reproducing Lester Polakov's sketch for the Broadway set
• First state has the textual error on page 161, line 17: the speech is prefixed 'Stella' where it should read 'Blanche.' Issued in Alvin Lustig's pink pictorial paper boards, the board design identical to his celebrated Lustig dust jacket (the boards are sometimes described as lavender/lilac)
• Jacket priced, with the price present at the front flap
• No statement of later printing on the copyright page

How New Directions marked a first edition

• Modern paperbacks carry a descending number line; lowest digit (1) present indicates first printing.

Full New Directions first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

US New Directions 1947 is the true first; the first UK edition (John Lehmann, London) did not follow until 1949. There is no separate signed/limited issue — 'signed' copies are author-inscribed trade copies.P-037335

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Not a book-club target. Reprints (second printing onward) state the printing on the copyright page and correct the page 161 'Stella'/'Blanche' error. The pink Lustig boards and priced Lustig jacket paired with the uncorrected page 161 point are the key first-printing identifiers.P-037336

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of A Streetcar Named Desire a first edition?

A first edition of A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams (New Directions) is identified by: First edition, first printing, New Directions, 1947, 171 pp., with a frontispiece reproducing Lester Polakov's sketch for the Broadway set.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. US New Directions 1947 is the true first; the first UK edition (John Lehmann, London) did not follow until 1949.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

Not a book-club target. Reprints (second printing onward) state the printing on the copyright page and correct the page 161 'Stella'/'Blanche' error. The pink Lustig boards and priced Lustig jacket paired with the uncorrected page 161 point are the key first-printing identifiers.

I have a first edition of A Streetcar Named Desire — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.