# Is "Concrete Island" by J.G. Ballard a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Concrete Island by J.G. Ballard (Jonathan Cape, 1974) is identified by: First UK edition, first impression, Jonathan Cape, London, 1974. The Cape 1974 UK edition is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First UK edition, first impression, Jonathan Cape, London, 1974
- Bound in black cloth boards with gilt lettering to the spine and the publisher's imprint at the foot, issued in the original Bill Botten-designed dust jacket with its distinctive black-and-grey graphic design
- An unclipped jacket carries the publisher's printed price
- This is the true first
- Publisher imprint reads Jonathan Cape
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | J.G. Ballard |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
| Year | 1974 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First UK edition, first impression, Jonathan Cape, London, 1974 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First UK edition, first impression, Jonathan Cape, London, 1974. Bound in black cloth boards with gilt lettering to the spine and the publisher's imprint at the foot, issued in the original Bill Botten-designed dust jacket with its distinctive black-and-grey graphic design. An unclipped jacket carries the publisher's printed price. This is the true first.

## Is this the true first?
The Cape 1974 UK edition is the true first. The Farrar, Straus and Giroux US edition also appeared in 1974; UK precedence is the standard cataloguing position. The US issue has black boards with a grey cloth backstrip and green-stamped spine.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Concrete Island* by J.G. Ballard a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/concrete-island
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.