Edward Albee First Editions

• The Zoo Story, The Death of Bessie Smith, The Sandbox — 1960 · Coward-McCannFirst American edition in book form of these three early one-acts (Coward-McCann, New York, 1960), Albee's first book, with a short introduction by the author. Light blue cloth lettered to the spine, in dust jacket with the printed price at the foot of the front flap. The first printing carries no later-printing statement on the copyright page. This Coward-McCann 1960 volume is the standard first edition in book form; it is preceded only by a softcover acting edition, and The Zoo Story itself premiered in Berlin in 1959. Treat it as the first edition in book form / first thus for the collected plays. Later printings are stated on the copyright page ('Tenth Printing,' and so on). No prominent book-club edition; the first printing has no printing line.
• The American Dream — 1961 · Coward-McCannFirst edition Coward-McCann, New York, 1961, issued in 1961 in two simultaneous formats: a softcover (wrappers) issue in the publisher's contemporary-drama series and a hardcover issue in cloth with dust jacket. The first printing of either format carries no later-printing statement on the copyright page; the priced dust jacket accompanies the hardcover issue. The US Coward-McCann 1961 edition is the first book appearance. Both the wrappers and the cloth issues appeared in 1961 and their priority is not firmly settled in the trade, so neither should be presented as the sole true first. Later combined Signet and Plume paperbacks (often pairing the play with The Zoo Story) are reprints, not the first. Combined paperback editions (Signet, Plume) are later reprints. The first printing is distinguished by the absence of a printing history on the copyright page.
• Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? — 1962 · AtheneumCopyright page states 'First Edition' (Atheneum's stated-first practice through the mid-1980s). Black cloth with the author's name blind-stamped on the front board, spine lettered in silver; top edge with a pinkish/red publisher's stain. Approx. 242 pp. White typographic dust jacket designed by Harry Ford, with the printed price on the front flap. US Atheneum 1962 is the true first (precedes the UK Jonathan Cape 1964 edition). Albee frequently signed copies; signed firsts are inscribed or signed trade copies, not a separate state. Book Club Edition lacks the 'First Edition' statement, has a blind-stamp dot on the rear board, lighter or thinner boards, and an unpriced or clipped jacket. The combination of stated 'First Edition' plus the priced jacket plus the blind-stamped author name plus the pinkish/red top stain confirms the first printing.
• The Ballad of the Sad Café (adaptation of Carson McCullers) — 1963 · Houghton Mifflin / Atheneum1963. First edition of Albee's stage adaptation of the McCullers novella, roughly 150 pages, bound in black cloth with gilt spine lettering and a yellow topstain, in dust jacket. The title page carries a joint imprint reading 'Boston: Houghton Mifflin; New York: Atheneum.' The Broadway production opened in the 1963/64 season with Colleen Dewhurst. There is a single 1963 first edition bearing the joint Houghton Mifflin / Atheneum imprint; there is no separate competing edition and thus no imprint precedence to resolve. No early book club; confirm the 1963 joint-imprint title page and the black-cloth binding with gilt spine and yellow topstain.
• Tiny Alice — 1965 · AtheneumBlack cloth, dust jacket; Atheneum, New York, 1965. Atheneum first editions of this period are identified by 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page, with the 1965 date agreeing on the title page. The US Atheneum edition is the true first. Jonathan Cape issued the first UK edition in 1966. Book-club copies are printed from the same setting but lack the price on the dust-jacket flap and the blind embossing on the front board; they carry no 'First Edition' statement.
• A Delicate Balance — 1966 · AtheneumThe copyright page states 'First Edition' (Atheneum's practice for its true firsts). Black cloth with gilt spine lettering; first-issue dust jacket carries the printed price on the front flap. Winner of the 1967 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The US Atheneum 1966 edition is the true first and precedes the UK Jonathan Cape edition. Signed examples are inscribed trade copies, not a separate issue. The Book Club Edition lacks the 'First Edition' statement, is stated on the dust-jacket flap, typically bears a blind-stamp on the rear board, and has an unpriced or clipped jacket. The stated 'First Edition' on the copyright page together with the priced jacket confirms the first printing.
• Malcolm (adaptation of James Purdy) — 1966 · AtheneumAtheneum, New York, 1966, in black cloth with a dust jacket; the play adapted by Edward Albee from the novel by James Purdy. Atheneum first editions of this period state 'First Edition' on the copyright page. The jacket should retain its printed price on the front flap; a price-clipped jacket does not by itself disqualify a first, since the stated 'First Edition' is the primary point. The US Atheneum edition of 1966 is the true first, adapted by Albee from Purdy's 1959 novel. Book-club copies lack the stated 'First Edition' line and characteristically omit the printed jacket price; verify the first by the copyright-page statement rather than the jacket alone.
• Everything in the Garden (adaptation of Giles Cooper) — 1968 · AtheneumAtheneum, New York, 1968, adapted by Albee from the play by Giles Cooper. First printing states 'First Edition' on the copyright page. Bound in black cloth lettered in gilt on the spine, with a yellow top stain, collating to roughly 201 pages. The first-issue dust jacket has a black spine lettered in white, yellow, and green, and carries a photograph of Albee on the lower rear panel; the printed jacket price…. The US Atheneum edition of 1968 is the true first edition of Albee's adaptation. Book-club copies lack the printed dust-jacket price and the blind embossing on the front board and carry no 'First Edition' statement on the copyright page.
• Box and Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung: Two Inter-Related Plays — 1969 · AtheneumBlack cloth with gilt spine lettering and author's name embossed on the front board, goldenrod topstain, dust jacket; Atheneum, New York, 1969. First edition states 'First Edition' on the copyright page. The US Atheneum edition is the true first. No contemporaneous book-club issue was located; a genuine first states 'First Edition' on the copyright page and retains the priced dust jacket.
• All Over — 1971 · AtheneumFirst US edition, Atheneum, New York, 1971, stating 'First Edition' on the copyright page, bound in black cloth with a dust jacket that should retain its printed front-flap price. This is the text of the play produced on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre in 1971. The US Atheneum edition is the true first. A Fireside Theatre / book-club issue exists, distributed with a promotional insert; book-club copies lack the dust-jacket price and the blind embossing on the front board and carry no 'First Edition' statement.
• Seascape — 1975 · AtheneumBlack cloth, gilt spine lettering with author's name embossed on the front board, teal topstain, dust jacket; Atheneum, New York, 1975. Winner of the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. First edition states 'First Edition' on the copyright page. The US Atheneum edition is the true first. Book-club copies lack the price on the dust-jacket flap and the blind embossing on the front board, and carry no 'First Edition' statement.
• The Lady from Dubuque — 1980 · AtheneumAtheneum (New York), 1980, first edition so stated on the copyright page. Bound in black cloth, octavo, 161 pages. The glossy dust jacket is printed in red, white and black and should retain its printed price on the front flap (unclipped). First Broadway production opened in 1980. The Atheneum New York hardcover is the true first edition. First Broadway production was 1980. No book club edition typically encountered.
• Three Tall Women — 1995 · DuttonThe first edition is the Dutton, New York hardcover of 1995, stated First edition on the copyright page. It is bound in quarter black cloth over blue paper boards with gold lettering on the spine, a slim octavo of roughly 110 pages. Jacket art is by Steve Ash, and a first-issue jacket retains the printed price on the front flap. The Dutton New York hardcover of 1995 is the true first edition, not a paperback. A Penguin/Plume trade paperback and a Dramatists Play Service acting edition also exist. The play won the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the year before this first book edition. No book club edition typically encountered.
• Lolita (adaptation of Nabokov) — 1998 · Dramatists Play ServiceFirst and only free-standing script publication: the Dramatists Play Service acting edition in printed wrappers, New York, 1998, roughly 72 pages, issued as a saddle-stitched/perfect-bound softcover in the house DPS format rather than as a trade hardcover. As with all DPS acting editions it carries no number line; identification rests on the DPS imprint and 1998 date on the title and copyright pages. The credit…. The only script publications are the Dramatists Play Service acting edition of 1998 (the true first appearance of the text in print) and a later gathering in The Collected Plays of Edward Albee, Volume Three (Overlook Duckworth, 2005). There is no trade hardcover first. Note that the 1981 Brooks Atkinson Theatre Broadway production used a heavily altered text that Albee disowned as not his adaptation, so the 1998…. No book club edition; acting editions of this kind were never offered through book clubs.
• The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? — 2003 · Overlook PressFirst US hardcover edition, Overlook Press, New York, 2003 (full title 'The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? (Notes Toward a Definition of Tragedy)'), so stated as First Edition with a full number line present on the copyright page. Bound in charcoal boards with gilt spine lettering; the dust jacket should retain its printed front-flap price unclipped. Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play (2002). The Overlook Press US hardcover of 2003 is the true first trade edition; a Dramatists Play Service acting edition also exists. No book club edition.
• The Play About the Baby — 2003 · Dramatists Play Service / Overlook PressThe Dramatists Play Service acting edition in wrappers (ISBN 0-8222-1814-3) appeared circa 2001; the Overlook Press cloth-in-jacket hardcover (ISBN 1-58567-353-6) was published in 2003 and represents the first hardcover trade edition. First in print was the Dramatists Play Service acting edition (circa 2001); the Overlook Press hardcover followed in 2003. No UK Faber 1998 edition could be verified. No book club edition.

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