# Is "Helmets" by James Dickey a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Helmets by James Dickey (Wesleyan University Press, 1964) is identified by: Poetry; Dickey's third collection. US first; the cloth issue is the collected hardcover form, issued at the same time as the wrappered issue.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Per the Wesleyan first-printing convention, issued simultaneously in cloth (light grey, spine stamped in black and green) and in wrappers
- The cloth first printing was a small impression in light grey cloth with a price-printed dust jacket
- Publisher imprint reads Wesleyan University Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | James Dickey |
| Publisher | Wesleyan University Press |
| Year | 1964 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Per the Wesleyan first-printing convention, issued simultaneously in cloth (light grey, spine stamped in black and green) and in wrappers |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Poetry; Dickey's third collection. Per the Wesleyan first-printing convention, issued simultaneously in cloth (light grey, spine stamped in black and green) and in wrappers. The cloth first printing was a small impression in light grey cloth with a price-printed dust jacket.

## Is this the true first?
US first; the cloth issue is the collected hardcover form, issued at the same time as the wrappered issue.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition; the distinction collectors track is cloth versus wrappers, both genuine first-issue formats.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Helmets* by James Dickey a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/helmets
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.