# Is "The Atrocity Exhibition" by J.G. Ballard a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Atrocity Exhibition by J.G. Ballard (Jonathan Cape, 1970) is identified by: First edition published 1970 by Jonathan Cape, London. The Cape 1970 edition is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition published 1970 by Jonathan Cape, London
- Octavo, bound in black cloth boards lettered in gilt on the spine, top edge stained pink; the dust jacket art is after a Salvador Dali image and the jacket should retain its original printed price
- This is the true first
- Publisher imprint reads Jonathan Cape
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | J.G. Ballard |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
| Year | 1970 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition published 1970 by Jonathan Cape, London |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition published 1970 by Jonathan Cape, London. Octavo, bound in black cloth boards lettered in gilt on the spine, top edge stained pink; the dust jacket art is after a Salvador Dali image and the jacket should retain its original printed price. This is the true first.

## Is this the true first?
The Cape 1970 edition is the true first. A US Doubleday edition was printed the same year but personally cancelled and pulped by Nelson Doubleday Jr. before release for fear of libel from figures depicted in the text; the surviving US issue is the retitled Grove Press 'Love and Napalm: Export U.S.A.' (1972), a distinct, later, non-first state.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The retitled US Grove edition is a separate, non-first state, not a book-club issue.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Atrocity Exhibition* by J.G. Ballard a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-atrocity-exhibition
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.