# Is "Dhalgren" by Samuel R. Delany a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany (Bantam Books, New York, 1975) is identified by: The first edition is a Bantam mass-market paperback original (catalog code Q8554), with 'Bantam edition / January 1975' on the copyright page and a full number line ending in '1.' No hardcover preceded it. The true first is the paperback original; there was no prior US or UK hardcover.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The first edition is a Bantam mass-market paperback original (catalog code Q8554), with 'Bantam edition / January 1975' on the copyright page and a full number line ending in '1.' No hardcover preceded it
- Publisher imprint reads Bantam Books, New York
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Samuel R. Delany |
| Publisher | Bantam Books, New York |
| Year | 1975 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The first edition is a Bantam mass-market paperback original (catalog code Q8554), with 'Bantam edition / January 1975' on the copyright… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
The first edition is a Bantam mass-market paperback original (catalog code Q8554), with 'Bantam edition / January 1975' on the copyright page and a full number line ending in '1.' No hardcover preceded it.

## Is this the true first?
The true first is the paperback original; there was no prior US or UK hardcover. The later Gregg Press (1977) library hardcover is the first hardcover but not the true first, which the Bantam PBO precedes. The imprint reads January 1975, though copies reached shelves in December 1974.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Not a book-club title in its first form. Distinguish the true first from the Gregg Press hardcover and from later Bantam printings whose number lines no longer end in '1.'

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Dhalgren* by Samuel R. Delany a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/dhalgren
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.