# Is "Studies in Words" by C.S. Lewis a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Studies in Words by C.S. Lewis (Cambridge University Press, 1960) is identified by: First edition, first printing, 1960, Cambridge: at the University Press. UK Cambridge University Press is the true first (1960).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing, 1960, Cambridge: at the University Press
- Collates [iv], v-vii, [viii] preliminaries and 1-239, [240] (final index page), bound in royal blue cloth with bright copper/gilt lettering to the spine set against a black panel
- Issued in the publisher's matte dust jacket in yellow, red and black
- The jacket carries the correct publisher's printed price; the printed price should be present, though price-clipping is common and does not alone demote a copy
- Contents run the essays adapted from Lewis's Cambridge lectures: Nature
- Conscience and Conscious; and "At the Fringe of Language," followed by the index
- Publisher imprint reads Cambridge University Press

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | C.S. Lewis |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| Year | 1960 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing, 1960, Cambridge: at the University Press |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing, 1960, Cambridge: at the University Press. Collates [iv], v-vii, [viii] preliminaries and 1-239, [240] (final index page), bound in royal blue cloth with bright copper/gilt lettering to the spine set against a black panel. Issued in the publisher's matte dust jacket in yellow, red and black. The jacket carries the correct publisher's printed price; the printed price should be present, though price-clipping is common and does not alone demote a copy. Contents run the essays adapted from Lewis's Cambridge lectures: Nature; Sad; Wit; Free; Sense; Simple; Conscience and Conscious; and "At the Fringe of Language," followed by the index.

## Is this the true first?
UK Cambridge University Press is the true first (1960). The enlarged second edition of 1967 (with an added chapter, notably on "World") is a distinct, reset edition and not the first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings and the enlarged 1967 second edition differ; check the title-page verso for edition/printing statements and confirm the printed price jacket price and original blue-cloth/copper-spine binding.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Studies in Words* by C.S. Lewis a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/studies-in-words
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.