# Is "En attendant Godot" by Samuel Beckett a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of En attendant Godot by Samuel Beckett (Les Éditions de Minuit, 1952) is identified by: The true world first of the play, in French, in publisher's printed wrappers (Les Éditions de Minuit, 1952). This Minuit French first precedes every English-language edition and is the absolute true first of the play.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true world first of the play, in French, in publisher's printed wrappers (Les Éditions de Minuit, 1952)
- A limited issue of 35 numbered large-paper copies on vélin supérieur — the only large-paper copies — precedes the trade run in wrappers (about 2,500 copies)
- The first printing carries the achevé d'imprimer dated 17 September 1952, so the book precedes the stage premiere at the Théâtre de Babylone on 5 January 1953
- Confirm by the printed wrappers, the justification / limitation leaf, and the 1952 colophon; the fragile Minuit wrappers make clean, unopened copies genuinely scarce
- Publisher imprint reads Les Éditions de Minuit
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Samuel Beckett |
| Publisher | Les Éditions de Minuit |
| Year | 1952 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true world first of the play, in French, in publisher's printed wrappers (Les Éditions de Minuit, 1952) |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
The true world first of the play, in French, in publisher's printed wrappers (Les Éditions de Minuit, 1952). A limited issue of 35 numbered large-paper copies on vélin supérieur — the only large-paper copies — precedes the trade run in wrappers (about 2,500 copies). The first printing carries the achevé d'imprimer dated 17 September 1952, so the book precedes the stage premiere at the Théâtre de Babylone on 5 January 1953. Confirm by the printed wrappers, the justification / limitation leaf, and the 1952 colophon; the fragile Minuit wrappers make clean, unopened copies genuinely scarce.

## Is this the true first?
This Minuit French first precedes every English-language edition and is the absolute true first of the play. The 35 numbered copies on vélin supérieur are the premium large-paper state; the roughly 2,500-copy trade in wrappers is the standard first. The English editions are later self-translations and are collected in their own right: Grove Press (New York, 1954) is the first edition in English, and Faber & Faber (London, 1956, printing the text expurgated for the Lord Chamberlain) is the first UK edition — neither is the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition. Later Minuit printings are distinguished by their later achevé d'imprimer; confirm the first by the printed wrappers, the justification leaf, and the 17 September 1952 colophon.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *En attendant Godot* by Samuel Beckett a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/en-attendant-godot
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.