# Is "Stephen Crane" by John Berryman a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Stephen Crane by John Berryman (William Sloane Associates, 1950) is identified by: Berryman's critical biography of Stephen Crane, a volume in the American Men of Letters series and his first prose book. US William Sloane Associates, 1950, is the first edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Berryman's critical biography of Stephen Crane, a volume in the American Men of Letters series and his first prose book
- First edition, first printing, William Sloane Associates, New York, 1950, cloth in dust jacket
- Publisher imprint reads William Sloane Associates
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John Berryman |
| Publisher | William Sloane Associates |
| Year | 1950 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Berryman's critical biography of Stephen Crane, a volume in the American Men of Letters… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Berryman's critical biography of Stephen Crane, a volume in the American Men of Letters series and his first prose book. First edition, first printing, William Sloane Associates, New York, 1950, cloth in dust jacket.

## Is this the true first?
US William Sloane Associates, 1950, is the first edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition for the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Stephen Crane* by John Berryman a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/stephen-crane
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.