# Is "Sailor Off the Bremen and Other Stories" by Irwin Shaw a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Sailor Off the Bremen and Other Stories by Irwin Shaw (Random House, 1939) is identified by: True first is the Random House issue. US Random House first; the Jonathan Cape London edition followed in 1940.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is the Random House issue
- The copyright page of the first printing carries a positive 'First Printing' (Random House) statement; later printings add a printing-history line
- This was Shaw's first book of fiction and his first story collection, and it contains 'The Girls in Their Summer Dresses.' Octavo in maroon cloth
- Publisher imprint reads Random House
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Irwin Shaw |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Year | 1939 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first is the Random House issue |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
True first is the Random House issue. The copyright page of the first printing carries a positive 'First Printing' (Random House) statement; later printings add a printing-history line. This was Shaw's first book of fiction and his first story collection, and it contains 'The Girls in Their Summer Dresses.' Octavo in maroon cloth.

## Is this the true first?
US Random House first; the Jonathan Cape London edition followed in 1940.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Random House printings state the printing history on the copyright page; the first printing does not.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Sailor Off the Bremen and Other Stories* by Irwin Shaw a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/sailor-off-the-bremen-and-other-stories
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.