# Is "Naked Lunch (US edition)" by William S. Burroughs a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Naked Lunch (US edition) by William S. Burroughs (Grove Press, 1962) is identified by: Black cloth in dust jacket; title 'Naked Lunch' (no 'The'). True US first is the 1962 Grove hardcover; a separate edition from the 1959 Olympia Paris first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Black cloth in dust jacket; title 'Naked Lunch' (no 'The')
- Copyright/title page bears a 1959 date although the book was not printed until 1962
- First-printing dust jacket with its printed price at the top of the front flap, with no GP-24 code, no zip code, and the '4 University Place' address on the rear panel
- Roughly 3,500 copies in the first printing
- Publisher imprint reads Grove Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | William S. Burroughs |
| Publisher | Grove Press |
| Year | 1962 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Black cloth in dust jacket; title 'Naked Lunch' (no 'The') |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Black cloth in dust jacket; title 'Naked Lunch' (no 'The'). Copyright/title page bears a 1959 date although the book was not printed until 1962. First-printing dust jacket with its printed price at the top of the front flap, with no GP-24 code, no zip code, and the '4 University Place' address on the rear panel. Roughly 3,500 copies in the first printing.

## Is this the true first?
True US first is the 1962 Grove hardcover; a separate edition from the 1959 Olympia Paris first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition; the wrappered Black Cat issue is later.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Naked Lunch (US edition)* by William S. Burroughs a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/naked-lunch-us-edition
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.