# Is "Crow" by Ted Hughes a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Crow by Ted Hughes (Faber & Faber, 1970) is identified by: UK Faber first edition, first printing, 1970: black cloth lettered in gilt, in the pictorial dust jacket designed by Leonard Baskin, jacket with its printed price and unclipped. The UK Faber edition (1970) is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK Faber first edition, first printing, 1970: black cloth lettered in gilt, in the pictorial dust jacket designed by Leonard Baskin, jacket with its printed price and unclipped
- The first printing carries the original (shorter) contents with no reprint statement
- The 1972 reprint adds seven poems, so the 1970 first is identified by the original contents and the absence of any reprint or added-poem indication
- Publisher imprint reads Faber & Faber
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ted Hughes |
| Publisher | Faber & Faber |
| Year | 1970 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | UK Faber first edition, first printing, 1970: black cloth lettered in gilt, in the pictorial dust jacket designed by Leonard Baskin, jacket… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
UK Faber first edition, first printing, 1970: black cloth lettered in gilt, in the pictorial dust jacket designed by Leonard Baskin, jacket with its printed price and unclipped. The first printing carries the original (shorter) contents with no reprint statement. The 1972 reprint adds seven poems, so the 1970 first is identified by the original contents and the absence of any reprint or added-poem indication.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Faber edition (1970) is the true first. The American Harper edition (1971) follows. The 1972 enlarged reprint, which adds seven poems, and the later signed limited edition are separate.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition. The principal confusion is the enlarged 1972 reprint, distinguished by the seven added poems and its reprint statement.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Crow* by Ted Hughes a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/crow
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.