# Is "Carving a Statue" by Graham Greene a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Carving a Statue by Graham Greene (The Bodley Head, 1964) is identified by: First edition, first printing, The Bodley Head, London, 1964. UK Bodley Head is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing, The Bodley Head, London, 1964
- A play in green cloth boards with the title stamped in gilt on the spine and a red topstain to the page edges, small octavo, 82 pages, issued in the original dust jacket
- The printed price should be present on an unclipped jacket
- Publisher imprint reads The Bodley Head
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Graham Greene |
| Publisher | The Bodley Head |
| Year | 1964 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing, The Bodley Head, London, 1964 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing, The Bodley Head, London, 1964. A play in green cloth boards with the title stamped in gilt on the spine and a red topstain to the page edges, small octavo, 82 pages, issued in the original dust jacket. The printed price should be present on an unclipped jacket.

## Is this the true first?
UK Bodley Head is the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue noted for the first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Carving a Statue* by Graham Greene a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/carving-a-statue
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.