# Is "The City of the Living and Other Stories" by Wallace Stegner a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The City of the Living and Other Stories by Wallace Stegner (Houghton Mifflin, 1956) is identified by: First edition (Riverside Press, October 1956) identified by the 1956 date on the title page with no later printing date; some copies also carry a first-printing indication on the copyright page, consistent with Houghton Mifflin's transitional late-1950s practice. True first US edition of this Stegner story collection.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition (Riverside Press, October 1956) identified by the 1956 date on the title page with no later printing date; some copies also carry a first-printing indication on the copyright page, consistent with Houghton Mifflin's transitional late-1950s practice
- Octavo of about 206 pages; teal/bluish-green paper-covered boards with yellow spine lettering, in the original Edward Sweet dust jacket
- Includes 'The Blue-Winged Teal.'
- Publisher imprint reads Houghton Mifflin
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Wallace Stegner |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
| Year | 1956 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition (Riverside Press, October 1956) identified by the 1956 date on the title… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition (Riverside Press, October 1956) identified by the 1956 date on the title page with no later printing date; some copies also carry a first-printing indication on the copyright page, consistent with Houghton Mifflin's transitional late-1950s practice. Octavo of about 206 pages; teal/bluish-green paper-covered boards with yellow spine lettering, in the original Edward Sweet dust jacket. Includes 'The Blue-Winged Teal.'

## Is this the true first?
True first US edition of this Stegner story collection.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition concern of note. 1956 sits at the transition when Houghton Mifflin began adding a copyright-page statement; the title-page date plus first-issue jacket is the reliable point.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The City of the Living and Other Stories* by Wallace Stegner a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-city-of-the-living-and-other-stories
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.