# Is "Sally Bowles" by Christopher Isherwood a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Sally Bowles by Christopher Isherwood (The Hogarth Press, 1937) is identified by: First edition, first printing published November 1937 in an edition of 2,040 copies. UK Hogarth Press is the true first, issued as a standalone novella.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing published November 1937 in an edition of 2,040 copies
- Blue cloth boards lettered in black to the spine, in the peach dust jacket printed in green and designed by Richard Kennedy, with the printed price to the front panel and spine
- Issued as a separate slim volume; scarce in the jacket
- Publisher imprint reads The Hogarth Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Christopher Isherwood |
| Publisher | The Hogarth Press |
| Year | 1937 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing published November 1937 in an edition of 2,040 copies |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing published November 1937 in an edition of 2,040 copies. Blue cloth boards lettered in black to the spine, in the peach dust jacket printed in green and designed by Richard Kennedy, with the printed price to the front panel and spine. Issued as a separate slim volume; scarce in the jacket.

## Is this the true first?
UK Hogarth Press is the true first, issued as a standalone novella. Isherwood later folded the text into the novel Goodbye to Berlin (1939).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition; the standalone Hogarth printing is the rarity.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Sally Bowles* by Christopher Isherwood a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/sally-bowles
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.