# Is "Clothes for a Summer Hotel" by Tennessee Williams a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Clothes for a Summer Hotel by Tennessee Williams (New Directions, 1983) is identified by: New Directions, New York, 1983, first trade printing (issued posthumously), cloth with dust jacket and a simultaneous wrappers issue. The Dramatists Play Service acting edition of the earlier text appeared in 1981 and precedes the trade text.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- New Directions, New York, 1983, first trade printing (issued posthumously), cloth with dust jacket and a simultaneous wrappers issue
- A ghost play concerning F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald
- Publisher imprint reads New Directions
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Tennessee Williams |
| Publisher | New Directions |
| Year | 1983 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | New Directions, New York, 1983, first trade printing (issued posthumously), cloth with… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
New Directions, New York, 1983, first trade printing (issued posthumously), cloth with dust jacket and a simultaneous wrappers issue. A ghost play concerning F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.

## Is this the true first?
The Dramatists Play Service acting edition of the earlier text appeared in 1981 and precedes the trade text. Williams then revised that text for the 1983 New Directions edition, which is the standard trade first and the first appearance of the final revised text.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Clothes for a Summer Hotel* by Tennessee Williams a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/clothes-for-a-summer-hotel
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.