# Is "Galactic Pot-Healer" by Philip K. Dick a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Galactic Pot-Healer by Philip K. Dick (Berkley, 1969) is identified by: Berkley Medallion paperback original, Berkley book number X1705 (not S1681), the printed price cover price, published June 1969, cover art by Sandy Kossin. The US Berkley Medallion paperback original is the true first edition, preceding the 1969 Science Fiction Book Club (Nelson Doubleday) hardcover.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Berkley Medallion paperback original, Berkley book number X1705 (not S1681), the printed price cover price, published June 1969, cover art by Sandy Kossin
- As a mass-market paperback original there is no dust jacket; the wraps themselves and the X1705 number with the printed price identify the first issue
- Publisher imprint reads Berkley
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Philip K. Dick |
| Publisher | Berkley |
| Year | 1969 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Berkley Medallion paperback original, Berkley book number X1705 (not S1681), the printed price cover price, published June 1969, cover art… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Berkley Medallion paperback original, Berkley book number X1705 (not S1681), the printed price cover price, published June 1969, cover art by Sandy Kossin. As a mass-market paperback original there is no dust jacket; the wraps themselves and the X1705 number with the printed price identify the first issue.

## Is this the true first?
The US Berkley Medallion paperback original is the true first edition, preceding the 1969 Science Fiction Book Club (Nelson Doubleday) hardcover.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition of the first issue; issued as a paperback original. (A Book Club hardcover of the later Doubleday-line edition is a separate later issue and is not the first.)

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Galactic Pot-Healer* by Philip K. Dick a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/galactic-pot-healer
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.