# Is "The Autobiography of William Carlos Williams" by William Carlos Williams a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Autobiography of William Carlos Williams by William Carlos Williams (Random House, 1951) is identified by: First edition, Random House, in blue cloth with dust jacket; book and jacket designed by Ernst Reichl. US Random House first, 1951; no prior edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, Random House, in blue cloth with dust jacket; book and jacket designed by Ernst Reichl
- Random House first editions of this period do not carry a 'First Printing' statement; a first is identified by the absence of any later-printing notice and by the 1951 dating, with the jacket priced on the front flap
- Publisher imprint reads Random House
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | William Carlos Williams |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Year | 1951 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, Random House, in blue cloth with dust jacket; book and jacket designed by… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition, Random House, in blue cloth with dust jacket; book and jacket designed by Ernst Reichl. Random House first editions of this period do not carry a 'First Printing' statement; a first is identified by the absence of any later-printing notice and by the 1951 dating, with the jacket priced on the front flap.

## Is this the true first?
US Random House first, 1951; no prior edition.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Autobiography of William Carlos Williams* by William Carlos Williams a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-autobiography-of-william-carlos-williams
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.