# Is "Proper Studies" by Aldous Huxley a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Proper Studies by Aldous Huxley (Chatto & Windus, 1927) is identified by: First trade printing of the essays (xix, 299 pp., octavo), in publisher's plain green cloth lettered in gilt to the spine, with a green-tinted top edge. The UK Chatto & Windus edition is the true first, issued in 1927 in both a signed limited state (260 numbered copies, quarter red cloth over marbled boards) and the ordinary green-cloth trade state.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First trade printing of the essays (xix, 299 pp., octavo), in publisher's plain green cloth lettered in gilt to the spine, with a green-tinted top edge
- Issued in a cream dust jacket printed in dull green; the printed jacket price should be present, and copies came from the publisher unclipped
- Note that a separate signed limited edition of 260 copies also appeared in 1927, bound in quarter red cloth over marbled paper boards, gilt-lettered spine, top edge gilt with others uncut, numbered and signed by Huxley; that limited issue and the green-cloth trade edition are distinct formats of the same first year
- Publisher imprint reads Chatto & Windus
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Aldous Huxley |
| Publisher | Chatto & Windus |
| Year | 1927 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First trade printing of the essays (xix, 299 pp., octavo), in publisher's plain green cloth lettered in gilt to the spine, with a… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First trade printing of the essays (xix, 299 pp., octavo), in publisher's plain green cloth lettered in gilt to the spine, with a green-tinted top edge. Issued in a cream dust jacket printed in dull green; the printed jacket price should be present, and copies came from the publisher unclipped. Note that a separate signed limited edition of 260 copies also appeared in 1927, bound in quarter red cloth over marbled paper boards, gilt-lettered spine, top edge gilt with others uncut, numbered and signed by Huxley; that limited issue and the green-cloth trade edition are distinct formats of the same first year.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Chatto & Windus edition is the true first, issued in 1927 in both a signed limited state (260 numbered copies, quarter red cloth over marbled boards) and the ordinary green-cloth trade state. The US first American edition followed from Doubleday, Doran (New York) in 1928, bound in plum cloth with a spine label and stated a first edition on the copyright page.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Proper Studies* by Aldous Huxley a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/proper-studies
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.