# Is "Cosmicomics (Le cosmicomiche)" by Italo Calvino a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Cosmicomics (Le cosmicomiche) by Italo Calvino (Harcourt, Brace & World, New York, 1968) is identified by: First US edition and first English-language edition; Harcourt, Brace & World, 1968, translated by William Weaver (octavo, cloth in dust jacket). The world first is the Italian 'Le cosmicomiche' (Einaudi, 1965).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First US edition and first English-language edition
- Harcourt, Brace & World, 1968, translated by William Weaver (octavo, cloth in dust jacket)
- The Harcourt, Brace & World imprint (pre-Jovanovich merger) is a key tell for the 1968 first
- Publisher imprint reads Harcourt, Brace & World, New York
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Italo Calvino |
| Publisher | Harcourt, Brace & World, New York |
| Year | 1968 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First US edition and first English-language edition |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First US edition and first English-language edition; Harcourt, Brace & World, 1968, translated by William Weaver (octavo, cloth in dust jacket). The Harcourt, Brace & World imprint (pre-Jovanovich merger) is a key tell for the 1968 first.

## Is this the true first?
The world first is the Italian 'Le cosmicomiche' (Einaudi, 1965). The 1968 Harcourt, Brace & World edition is the first edition in English; Weaver's translation won the 1969 National Book Award for translation. A UK edition followed in 1969.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings carry the Harcourt Brace Jovanovich imprint (post-1970 merger), a quick tell against the 1968 first printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Cosmicomics (Le cosmicomiche)* by Italo Calvino a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/cosmicomics-le-cosmicomiche
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.