# Is "Sweet Bird of Youth" by Tennessee Williams a First Edition?

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

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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)
- Publisher imprint reads New Directions
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Tennessee Williams |
| Publisher | New Directions |
| Year | 1959 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | New York, New Directions, 1959; first edition, an octavo of 114 pages issued in cloth… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## 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).

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Sweet Bird of Youth* by Tennessee Williams a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/sweet-bird-of-youth
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.