# Is "Green Grow the Lilacs" by Lynn Riggs a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Green Grow the Lilacs by Lynn Riggs (Samuel French, 1931) is identified by: Samuel French first edition, 1931 — the acting/stage text of the play that became the basis for Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!. The 1931 Samuel French issue is the first edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Samuel French first edition, 1931 — the acting/stage text of the play that became the basis for Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!. Samuel French issued the title simultaneously in cloth-bound hardcover and in printed wrappers
- The scarce point is the first-issue dust jacket, which lacks the later 'second edition' plug; jackets carrying that added notice mark a subsequent printing
- Publisher imprint reads Samuel French
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Lynn Riggs |
| Publisher | Samuel French |
| Year | 1931 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Samuel French first edition, 1931 — the acting/stage text of the play that became the basis for Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!. Samuel… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Samuel French first edition, 1931 — the acting/stage text of the play that became the basis for Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!. Samuel French issued the title simultaneously in cloth-bound hardcover and in printed wrappers. The scarce point is the first-issue dust jacket, which lacks the later 'second edition' plug; jackets carrying that added notice mark a subsequent printing.

## Is this the true first?
The 1931 Samuel French issue is the first edition. Because the hardcover and wrappered forms were published simultaneously, neither format precedes the other; the meaningful first-issue point is the dust jacket without the 'second edition' plug.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings reprint the text and, on the jacketed hardcover, carry the added 'second edition' plug on the dust jacket; the wrappered issue in later states is likewise a reprint, not the first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Green Grow the Lilacs* by Lynn Riggs a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/green-grow-the-lilacs
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.