Is My Sweet Bird of Youth a First Edition?

The points of issue

• New York, New Directions, 1959; first edition, an octavo of 114 pages issued in cloth with the author's foreword
• New Directions of this period carried no printer's number line, so the first printing is identified by the absence of any later-printing statement on the copyright page
• The first-issue dust jacket is the white pictorial jacket, and a correct first should retain the original printed price on the front flap (a price-clipped example is still a first, merely with the price removed)

How New Directions marked a first edition

• Modern paperbacks carry a descending number line; lowest digit (1) present indicates first printing.

Full New Directions first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
4. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

US New Directions 1959 is the true first edition. The UK Secker and Warburg edition followed in 1961.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No early book club edition. Later New Directions paperbook printings in the same white jacket are distinguished from the 1959 first by their printing statements and later ISBN/pricing.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Sweet Bird of Youth a first edition?

A first edition of Sweet Bird of Youth by Tennessee Williams (New Directions) is identified by: New York, New Directions, 1959; first edition, an octavo of 114 pages issued in cloth with the author's foreword.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). US New Directions 1959 is the true first edition.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

No early book club edition. Later New Directions paperbook printings in the same white jacket are distinguished from the 1959 first by their printing statements and later ISBN/pricing.

I have a first edition of Sweet Bird of Youth — what should I do?

If you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than lost. To sell, see the author’s collecting guide. Either way, nothing collectible ends up in a landfill.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.