# Is "Paingod and Other Delusions" by Harlan Ellison a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Paingod and Other Delusions by Harlan Ellison (Pyramid, 1965) is identified by: Pyramid Books paperback original, catalog number R-1270, first printing 1965. US Pyramid paperback original (R-1270) is the true first printing; there was no simultaneous hardcover and no prior appearance of the collection as a book.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Pyramid Books paperback original, catalog number R-1270, first printing 1965
- Science-fiction story collection with front-cover art by Jack Gaughan; the true first carries the R-1270 number and the original wraparound Gaughan cover, and the printed cover price should be present on a genuine first-issue copy
- As a paperback original there is no separate hardcover first; the copyright page bears no later-printing statement on the true first
- Publisher imprint reads Pyramid
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Harlan Ellison |
| Publisher | Pyramid |
| Year | 1965 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Pyramid Books paperback original, catalog number R-1270, first printing 1965 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Pyramid Books paperback original, catalog number R-1270, first printing 1965. Science-fiction story collection with front-cover art by Jack Gaughan; the true first carries the R-1270 number and the original wraparound Gaughan cover, and the printed cover price should be present on a genuine first-issue copy. As a paperback original there is no separate hardcover first; the copyright page bears no later-printing statement on the true first.

## Is this the true first?
US Pyramid paperback original (R-1270) is the true first printing; there was no simultaneous hardcover and no prior appearance of the collection as a book.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition. Caution: a later Pyramid printing carries the catalog number X-1991 and is also marked 'first edition' on the copyright page, but it is a subsequent printing, not the true first; the true first is R-1270. Pyramid reissued the collection several times over the following fifteen years, and a new introduction was added for the 1975 uniform Ellison edition, so copies containing that introduction are later reissues rather than the 1965 first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Paingod and Other Delusions* by Harlan Ellison a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/paingod-and-other-delusions
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.