# Is "The City and the Stars" by Arthur C. Clarke a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke (Harcourt, Brace, 1956) is identified by: First edition stated 'First Edition' on the copyright page (Harcourt practice of this era), priced dust jacket (3.75 on the front flap). US Harcourt, Brace and the UK Frederick Muller editions both appeared in 1956; precedence between them is not reliably documented, so each is best described as the US first and the UK first respectively rather than asserting one true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition stated 'First Edition' on the copyright page (Harcourt practice of this era), priced dust jacket (3.75 on the front flap)
- Blue marbled cloth, silver spine lettering, jacket art by George Salter
- Expanded rewrite of 'Against the Fall of Night.'
- Publisher imprint reads Harcourt, Brace
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Arthur C. Clarke |
| Publisher | Harcourt, Brace |
| Year | 1956 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition stated 'First Edition' on the copyright page (Harcourt practice of this era), priced dust jacket (3.75 on the front flap) |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition stated 'First Edition' on the copyright page (Harcourt practice of this era), priced dust jacket (3.75 on the front flap). Blue marbled cloth, silver spine lettering, jacket art by George Salter. Expanded rewrite of 'Against the Fall of Night.'

## Is this the true first?
US Harcourt, Brace and the UK Frederick Muller editions both appeared in 1956; precedence between them is not reliably documented, so each is best described as the US first and the UK first respectively rather than asserting one true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book club edition lacks the flap price and bears a small blindstamp (debossed shape) on the rear board; it may still carry a 'First Edition' line, so the blindstamp and absent price are the reliable tells.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The City and the Stars* by Arthur C. Clarke a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-city-and-the-stars
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.