# Is "The Beard" by Michael McClure a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Beard by Michael McClure (Privately printed by McClure, 1965) is identified by: The true first is the 1965 privately printed issue, in pictorial wraps, printed on rectos only, with the copyright page noting it was intended for actors and friends of the author only. Precedence: the 1965 privately printed edition precedes the 1967 Coyote trade edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first is the 1965 privately printed issue, in pictorial wraps, printed on rectos only, with the copyright page noting it was intended for actors and friends of the author only
- The Coyote Books trade edition (San Francisco, 1967, with a preface by Norman Mailer) followed and is a later, separate edition
- Publisher imprint reads Privately printed by McClure
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Michael McClure |
| Publisher | Privately printed by McClure |
| Year | 1965 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first is the 1965 privately printed issue, in pictorial wraps, printed on rectos… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The true first is the 1965 privately printed issue, in pictorial wraps, printed on rectos only, with the copyright page noting it was intended for actors and friends of the author only. The Coyote Books trade edition (San Francisco, 1967, with a preface by Norman Mailer) followed and is a later, separate edition.

## Is this the true first?
Precedence: the 1965 privately printed edition precedes the 1967 Coyote trade edition. The record's 'Coyote/1967' framing for the first is imprecise; the private 1965 printing is the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Beard* by Michael McClure a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-beard
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.