# Is "Owl's Clover" by Wallace Stevens a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Owl's Clover by Wallace Stevens (Alcestis Press, 1936) is identified by: Limited edition of 105 signed and numbered copies (20 presentation copies numbered i-xx on handmade paper, 85 numbered 1-85 on Strathmore all-rag paper), published November 1936, in original Alcestis Press format. US Alcestis Press is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Limited edition of 105 signed and numbered copies (20 presentation copies numbered i-xx on handmade paper, 85 numbered 1-85 on Strathmore all-rag paper), published November 1936, in original Alcestis Press format
- The complete text of the poem appeared only here
- Publisher imprint reads Alcestis Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Wallace Stevens |
| Publisher | Alcestis Press |
| Year | 1936 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Limited edition of 105 signed and numbered copies (20 presentation copies numbered i-xx… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Limited edition of 105 signed and numbered copies (20 presentation copies numbered i-xx on handmade paper, 85 numbered 1-85 on Strathmore all-rag paper), published November 1936, in original Alcestis Press format. The complete text of the poem appeared only here.

## Is this the true first?
US Alcestis Press is the true first. The full-length text of Owl's Clover appears only in this edition; a substantially revised and abridged version later appeared in The Man with the Blue Guitar and Other Poems (Knopf, 1937).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition relevant to the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Owl's Clover* by Wallace Stevens a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/owls-clover
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.