# Is "North & South" by Elizabeth Bishop a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of North & South by Elizabeth Bishop (Houghton Mifflin, 1946) is identified by: Bishop's first book; won the Houghton Mifflin Poetry/Literary Fellowship Award. US Houghton Mifflin (1946) is the true first; there is no prior UK edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Bishop's first book; won the Houghton Mifflin Poetry/Literary Fellowship Award
- First printing of 1,000 copies (a second printing of 500 followed)
- Blue cloth, lettering and a silver compass rose stamped to the upper board; dust jacket designed by Samuel Hanks Bryant; [viii], 54 pp., octavo
- The first printing carries no statement of additional printings; the second printing (500 copies) is so noted
- Publisher imprint reads Houghton Mifflin
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Elizabeth Bishop |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
| Year | 1946 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | Bishop's first book; won the Houghton Mifflin Poetry/Literary Fellowship Award |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Bishop's first book; won the Houghton Mifflin Poetry/Literary Fellowship Award. First printing of 1,000 copies (a second printing of 500 followed). Blue cloth, lettering and a silver compass rose stamped to the upper board; dust jacket designed by Samuel Hanks Bryant; [viii], 54 pp., octavo. The first printing carries no statement of additional printings; the second printing (500 copies) is so noted.

## Is this the true first?
US Houghton Mifflin (1946) is the true first; there is no prior UK edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club. The second printing is identified by its printing statement. The 1955 'Poems: North & South — A Cold Spring' (the Pulitzer winner) is a different, later book that incorporates this collection.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *North & South* by Elizabeth Bishop a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/north-south
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.