# Is "Opus Posthumous" by Wallace Stevens a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Opus Posthumous by Wallace Stevens (Alfred A. Knopf, 1957) is identified by: Edited with an introduction by Samuel French Morse. US Knopf 1957 is the true first; the first UK edition (Faber) followed in 1959.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Edited with an introduction by Samuel French Morse
- First edition, Knopf, in brown cloth with dust jacket
- Borzoi device
- Gathers poems, plays, and prose, about a third appearing in book form for the first time
- First printing per Knopf convention
- Publisher imprint reads Alfred A. Knopf
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Wallace Stevens |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
| Year | 1957 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Edited with an introduction by Samuel French Morse |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Edited with an introduction by Samuel French Morse. First edition, Knopf, in brown cloth with dust jacket; Borzoi device. Gathers poems, plays, and prose, about a third appearing in book form for the first time. First printing per Knopf convention.

## Is this the true first?
US Knopf 1957 is the true first; the first UK edition (Faber) followed in 1959. First-thus posthumous gathering.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Opus Posthumous* by Wallace Stevens a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/opus-posthumous
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.