# Is "Invisible Cities" by Italo Calvino a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1974) is identified by: US Harcourt Brace Jovanovich 1974 first edition, stated First edition on the copyright page with the HBJ letter line beginning at B (First Edition / B C D E), reflecting the 1973 to 1983 practice of dropping the A. First English translation of Le citta invisibili (Einaudi, 1972).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US Harcourt Brace Jovanovich 1974 first edition, stated First edition on the copyright page with the HBJ letter line beginning at B (First Edition / B C D E), reflecting the 1973 to 1983 practice of dropping the A. Translated by William Weaver
- Publisher imprint reads Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Italo Calvino |
| Publisher | Harcourt Brace Jovanovich |
| Year | 1974 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US Harcourt Brace Jovanovich 1974 first edition, stated First edition on the copyright… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
US Harcourt Brace Jovanovich 1974 first edition, stated First edition on the copyright page with the HBJ letter line beginning at B (First Edition / B C D E), reflecting the 1973 to 1983 practice of dropping the A. Translated by William Weaver.

## Is this the true first?
First English translation of Le citta invisibili (Einaudi, 1972). The US Harcourt edition and the UK Secker and Warburg edition both appeared in 1974; the US issue is generally treated as the first English publication.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A later book-club printing lacks the stated First edition line and letter string on the copyright page and typically has no price on the jacket; identify by the absence of the number line rather than by any single stamp.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Invisible Cities* by Italo Calvino a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/invisible-cities
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.