The points of issue
Grove Press first edition, 1957. The standard trade issue is in stiff paper wrappers (Evergreen, roughly 900 copies). The hardcover is a signed, numbered limited issue in green cloth (75 copies signed by O'Hara), preceded by a special issue of 15 copies that adds a frontispiece drawing by Grace Hartigan. Contains the title poem and 'To the Harbormaster.'
Is this the true first?
US true first; an early O'Hara collection. The cloth is the signed limited issue and is far scarcer than the wrappers trade issue.
Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition. Correction: the crux is the wrappers trade issue versus the signed/numbered cloth limited issue (with the 15-copy Hartigan-frontispiece special issue above it), not a plain unsigned 'cloth vs paperback' split.
Frequently asked questions
Is my copy of Meditations in an Emergency a first edition?
Look for these first-edition points: Grove Press first edition, 1957. The standard trade issue is in stiff paper wrappers (Evergreen, roughly 900 copies). The hardcover is a signed, numbered limited issue in green cloth (75 copies signed by O'Hara), preceded by a special issue of 15 copies that adds a frontispiece drawing by Grace Hartigan. Contains the title poem and 'To the Harbormaster.'
How do I tell the first printing from a later one?
Check the copyright page for the publisher's first-printing convention and confirm the points above. US true first; an early O'Hara collection. The cloth is the signed limited issue and is far scarcer than the wrappers trade issue.
Is the book-club edition the same as the first?
No book-club edition. Correction: the crux is the wrappers trade issue versus the signed/numbered cloth limited issue (with the 15-copy Hartigan-frontispiece special issue above it), not a plain unsigned 'cloth vs paperback' split.
I have a first edition of Meditations in an Emergency — what should I do?
If you're clearing books, New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup in Albuquerque, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies aren't lost. To sell, see the author's collecting guide. Either way, nothing valuable ends up in a landfill.