# Is "The Caretaker" by Harold Pinter a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Caretaker by Harold Pinter (Encore Publishing Co. / Methuen, 1960) is identified by: True first edition is the Encore Publishing Co. Encore wrappers (1960) is the true first; the Methuen 1960 cloth is the first hardback (a first thus).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first edition is the Encore Publishing Co. paperback in stapled card wrappers (London, 1960), which precedes the Methuen issue of the same year by a few months
- The Methuen 1960 hardback is the first hardcover, stating 'First published 1960' with no later-impression line
- Methuen also issued the title in wrappers
- Publisher imprint reads Encore Publishing Co. / Methuen
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Harold Pinter |
| Publisher | Encore Publishing Co. / Methuen |
| Year | 1960 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first edition is the Encore Publishing Co. paperback in stapled card wrappers (London, 1960), which precedes the Methuen issue of the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
True first edition is the Encore Publishing Co. paperback in stapled card wrappers (London, 1960), which precedes the Methuen issue of the same year by a few months. The Methuen 1960 hardback is the first hardcover, stating 'First published 1960' with no later-impression line; Methuen also issued the title in wrappers.

## Is this the true first?
Encore wrappers (1960) is the true first; the Methuen 1960 cloth is the first hardback (a first thus). This precedence is the key trap — many catalogue the Methuen hardback as 'the first.'

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition. The collecting distinction is Encore wrappers (priority) versus the Methuen hardback; later Methuen impressions are stated on the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Caretaker* by Harold Pinter a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-caretaker
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.