# Is "Music at Night and Other Essays" by Aldous Huxley a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Music at Night and Other Essays by Aldous Huxley (The Fountain Press, 1931) is identified by: The first edition is the signed limited issue printed for The Fountain Press, limited to 842 numbered copies signed by Huxley (distributed in America by Random House and in Britain by Chatto & Windus). Precedence belongs to the Fountain Press signed limited rather than to a plain Chatto trade printing.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The first edition is the signed limited issue printed for The Fountain Press, limited to 842 numbered copies signed by Huxley (distributed in America by Random House and in Britain by Chatto & Windus)
- Chatto & Windus then issued the ordinary trade edition
- Publisher imprint reads The Fountain Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Aldous Huxley |
| Publisher | The Fountain Press |
| Year | 1931 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The first edition is the signed limited issue printed for The Fountain Press, limited to 842 numbered copies signed by Huxley (distributed… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The first edition is the signed limited issue printed for The Fountain Press, limited to 842 numbered copies signed by Huxley (distributed in America by Random House and in Britain by Chatto & Windus). Chatto & Windus then issued the ordinary trade edition.

## Is this the true first?
Precedence belongs to the Fountain Press signed limited rather than to a plain Chatto trade printing. Chatto & Windus distributed the limited in Britain and published the trade edition; describing Chatto as the outright true first is misleading.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The key distinction is the signed Fountain Press limited versus the Chatto trade edition, not a book-club issue.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Music at Night and Other Essays* by Aldous Huxley a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/music-at-night-and-other-essays
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.