# Is "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater" by Kurt Vonnegut a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1965) is identified by: Full title 'God Bless You, Mr. True first is the 1965 Holt, Rinehart and Winston edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Full title 'God Bless You, Mr
- Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine.' Published 5 April 1965 by Holt, Rinehart and Winston
- First edition states 'First Edition' on the copyright page, bound as an octavo in half cloth — a gray cloth spine lettered in black with patterned/marbled boards
- The dust jacket art is by Murray Tinkelman
- On the first-issue jacket the publisher's price is present on the front flap (with the matching series price on the rear flap)
- Publisher imprint reads Holt, Rinehart and Winston
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Kurt Vonnegut |
| Publisher | Holt, Rinehart and Winston |
| Year | 1965 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Full title 'God Bless You, Mr |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Full title 'God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine.' Published 5 April 1965 by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. First edition states 'First Edition' on the copyright page, bound as an octavo in half cloth — a gray cloth spine lettered in black with patterned/marbled boards. The dust jacket art is by Murray Tinkelman. On the first-issue jacket the publisher's price is present on the front flap (with the matching series price on the rear flap).

## Is this the true first?
True first is the 1965 Holt, Rinehart and Winston edition. The UK first was published by Jonathan Cape in 1965. Note the 1971 Delacorte Uniform Edition reprints the same text but is a later, separate issue, not the first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A book-club edition exists with a blind-stamp to the rear board and an unpriced dust jacket. On the trade first, a later jacket state has the price removed from the front flap while the series price remains on the rear flap.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater* by Kurt Vonnegut a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/god-bless-you-mr-rosewater
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.