# Is "Last Exit to Brooklyn" by Hubert Selby Jr. a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby Jr. (Grove Press, 1964) is identified by: True first is New York: Grove Press, 1964, Selby's first book; 304 pages, publisher catalogue code GP-304, jacket design by Roy Kuhlman. US Grove Press (New York) 1964 is the true first; the UK Calder & Boyars (London) 1966 edition — the one prosecuted in the landmark British obscenity trial — is a later edition but is separately and actively collected.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is New York: Grove Press, 1964, Selby's first book
- 304 pages, publisher catalogue code GP-304, jacket design by Roy Kuhlman
- Bound in red paper-covered boards backed in quarter black cloth, the spine stamped in red
- The copyright page carries the Grove 'First Printing' statement (later printings are noted there, and later-printing jackets carry a small letter code on the rear panel)
- Priced pictorial dust jacket, price present at the flap
- Publisher imprint reads Grove Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Hubert Selby Jr. |
| Publisher | Grove Press |
| Year | 1964 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first is New York: Grove Press, 1964, Selby's first book |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
True first is New York: Grove Press, 1964, Selby's first book; 304 pages, publisher catalogue code GP-304, jacket design by Roy Kuhlman. Bound in red paper-covered boards backed in quarter black cloth, the spine stamped in red. The copyright page carries the Grove 'First Printing' statement (later printings are noted there, and later-printing jackets carry a small letter code on the rear panel). Priced pictorial dust jacket, price present at the flap.

## Is this the true first?
US Grove Press (New York) 1964 is the true first; the UK Calder & Boyars (London) 1966 edition — the one prosecuted in the landmark British obscenity trial — is a later edition but is separately and actively collected. Census precedence is correct; both editions are collected.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Multiple Grove printings followed quickly (second, sixth, etc.); later printings are stated on the copyright page and flagged by a rear-panel jacket letter code. The GP-304 first printing in the priced Kuhlman jacket is the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Last Exit to Brooklyn* by Hubert Selby Jr. a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/last-exit-to-brooklyn
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.