# Is "Bluebeard" by Kurt Vonnegut a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut (Delacorte Press, 1987) is identified by: Copyright page states First trade edition / first printing (not a number line). True first trade edition is the 1987 Delacorte Press printing, identified by the stated first trade edition / first printing line.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Copyright page states First trade edition / first printing (not a number line)
- Priced trade dust jacket
- Quarter black cloth over blue boards with a facsimile author signature in gilt on the front board; red endpapers
- A separate signed/numbered limited edition in a slipcase was issued, and the Franklin Library produced a signed leather edition for its Signed First Edition Society with a Special Message by Vonnegut
- Publisher imprint reads Delacorte Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Kurt Vonnegut |
| Publisher | Delacorte Press |
| Year | 1987 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Copyright page states First trade edition / first printing (not a number line) |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Copyright page states First trade edition / first printing (not a number line). Priced trade dust jacket. Quarter black cloth over blue boards with a facsimile author signature in gilt on the front board; red endpapers. A separate signed/numbered limited edition in a slipcase was issued, and the Franklin Library produced a signed leather edition for its Signed First Edition Society with a Special Message by Vonnegut.

## Is this the true first?
True first trade edition is the 1987 Delacorte Press printing, identified by the stated first trade edition / first printing line. The Franklin Library signed leather issue was a near-simultaneous deluxe edition for subscribers and is sometimes cited as appearing slightly ahead of the trade printing; the standard collected first is the priced Delacorte trade edition. UK: Jonathan Cape, 1988.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club edition lacks the stated first printing and the priced jacket; identify the first by the stated first-edition line and an unclipped priced jacket.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Bluebeard* by Kurt Vonnegut a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/bluebeard
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.