# Is "Maggie Cassidy" by Jack Kerouac a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Maggie Cassidy by Jack Kerouac (Avon Publications, 1959) is identified by: Paperback original (Avon T-371); pictorial wrappers. True first is the 1959 Avon paperback original; the earliest printing carries the full unexpurgated text before the revision.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Paperback original (Avon T-371); pictorial wrappers
- No hardcover first was issued
- The true first printing contains the complete unexpurgated text; a subsequent expurgated printing revised the disputed passages
- Publisher imprint reads Avon Publications
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Jack Kerouac |
| Publisher | Avon Publications |
| Year | 1959 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Paperback original (Avon T-371); pictorial wrappers |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Paperback original (Avon T-371); pictorial wrappers. No hardcover first was issued. The true first printing contains the complete unexpurgated text; a subsequent expurgated printing revised the disputed passages.

## Is this the true first?
True first is the 1959 Avon paperback original; the earliest printing carries the full unexpurgated text before the revision.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition; a later UK Panther edition and other reprints follow.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Maggie Cassidy* by Jack Kerouac a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/maggie-cassidy
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.