# Is "Reality Sandwiches 1953–60" by Allen Ginsberg a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Reality Sandwiches 1953–60 by Allen Ginsberg (City Lights Books / The Pocket Poets Series No. 18, 1963) is identified by: City Lights Books, The Pocket Poets Series No. City Lights US (1963) is the true first edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- City Lights Books, The Pocket Poets Series No
- 18, in perfect-bound (Smyth-sewn) black-and-white printed wrappers, lettered in black to the spine and in black and white to the upper wrapper, with the price printed at the upper corner of the lower wrapper (98 pages)
- The first printing was printed at Villiers Publications, London, in an edition of about 3,000 copies, and shows the noted point of the letter 't' in 'Pocket' on the copyright page set lower than the surrounding letters
- Original price present on the rear wrapper
- Publisher imprint reads City Lights Books / The Pocket Poets Series No. 18
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Allen Ginsberg |
| Publisher | City Lights Books / The Pocket Poets Series No. 18 |
| Year | 1963 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | City Lights Books, The Pocket Poets Series No |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
City Lights Books, The Pocket Poets Series No. 18, in perfect-bound (Smyth-sewn) black-and-white printed wrappers, lettered in black to the spine and in black and white to the upper wrapper, with the price printed at the upper corner of the lower wrapper (98 pages). The first printing was printed at Villiers Publications, London, in an edition of about 3,000 copies, and shows the noted point of the letter 't' in 'Pocket' on the copyright page set lower than the surrounding letters. Original price present on the rear wrapper.

## Is this the true first?
City Lights US (1963) is the true first edition. Confirm by Pocket Poets No. 18, the Villiers Publications printing, the dropped 't' in 'Pocket' on the copyright page, and the first-printing copyright page free of later-printing statements.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Not a book-club title. Later printings are noted by added statements on the copyright page; the first printing lacks any later-printing line and retains the original rear-wrapper price.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Reality Sandwiches 1953–60* by Allen Ginsberg a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/reality-sandwiches-1953-60
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.