# Is "Sabbath's Theater" by Philip Roth a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Sabbath's Theater by Philip Roth (Houghton Mifflin, 1995) is identified by: Full number line descending to 1 on the copyright page; the first-state jacket (designed by Milton Glaser) carries its printed price on the front flap. The US Houghton Mifflin edition is the true first; the UK Jonathan Cape edition follows.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Full number line descending to 1 on the copyright page; the first-state jacket (designed by Milton Glaser) carries its printed price on the front flap
- Quarter black cloth over black boards with silver lettering and purple endpapers
- National Book Award winner
- Publisher imprint reads Houghton Mifflin
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Philip Roth |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
| Year | 1995 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Full number line descending to 1 on the copyright page; the first-state jacket (designed by Milton Glaser) carries its printed price on the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Full number line descending to 1 on the copyright page; the first-state jacket (designed by Milton Glaser) carries its printed price on the front flap. Quarter black cloth over black boards with silver lettering and purple endpapers. National Book Award winner.

## Is this the true first?
The US Houghton Mifflin edition is the true first; the UK Jonathan Cape edition follows.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition of note; later printings show a shortened number line not descending to 1.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Sabbath's Theater* by Philip Roth a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/sabbaths-theater
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.