# Is "Beautiful Losers" by Leonard Cohen a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Beautiful Losers by Leonard Cohen (McClelland & Stewart, 1966) is identified by: True first: McClelland & Stewart (Toronto), 1966 — black cloth boards, gilt spine lettering, blind-stamped figure on the front board; dust jacket drawing by Harold Town, jacket design by Frank Newfeld. The Canadian McClelland & Stewart 1966 hardcover is the true first edition of Cohen's second novel, published 28 April 1966.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first: McClelland & Stewart (Toronto), 1966 — black cloth boards, gilt spine lettering, blind-stamped figure on the front board; dust jacket drawing by Harold Town, jacket design by Frank Newfeld
- The most reliable internal point is the presence of typographical extras dropped from all later editions: the mock comic-book captions, the Charles Axis bodybuilding parody advertisement, the radio transcript of 'Gavin and the Goddesses,' and the Greek-English phrasebook passage
- The first-printing sheets were printed by Viking and bound by M&S, so US Viking sheets in a Canadian jacket also occur
- Publisher imprint reads McClelland & Stewart
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Leonard Cohen |
| Publisher | McClelland & Stewart |
| Year | 1966 |
| True first | Canadian edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first: McClelland & Stewart (Toronto), 1966 — black cloth boards, gilt spine lettering, blind-stamped figure on the front board; dust… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
True first: McClelland & Stewart (Toronto), 1966 — black cloth boards, gilt spine lettering, blind-stamped figure on the front board; dust jacket drawing by Harold Town, jacket design by Frank Newfeld. The most reliable internal point is the presence of typographical extras dropped from all later editions: the mock comic-book captions, the Charles Axis bodybuilding parody advertisement, the radio transcript of 'Gavin and the Goddesses,' and the Greek-English phrasebook passage. The first-printing sheets were printed by Viking and bound by M&S, so US Viking sheets in a Canadian jacket also occur.

## Is this the true first?
The Canadian McClelland & Stewart 1966 hardcover is the true first edition of Cohen's second novel, published 28 April 1966. The US Viking Press (1966) and UK Jonathan Cape editions are secondary; collectors prize the Canadian M&S first. Because the original sheets were printed by Viking and bound by M&S, some copies pair US-printed text with a Canadian jacket.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Beware later M&S, Viking, Vintage, and combined-omnibus reprints sold as 'first edition.' Confirm the 1966 single-title hardcover that still contains the comic-book captions, Charles Axis advertisement, 'Gavin and the Goddesses' transcript, and Greek-English phrasebook; these extras were removed from subsequent printings.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Beautiful Losers* by Leonard Cohen a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/beautiful-losers
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.