# Is "The Clown (Ansichten eines Clowns)" by Heinrich Böll a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Clown (Ansichten eines Clowns) by Heinrich Böll (McGraw-Hill, 1965) is identified by: First US edition in English, translated by Leila Vennewitz, published by McGraw-Hill, New York, 1965 (247 pp.), octavo. The first English-language edition is the McGraw-Hill US printing of 1965 (Vennewitz translation).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First US edition in English, translated by Leila Vennewitz, published by McGraw-Hill, New York, 1965 (247 pp.), octavo
- Bound in black cloth boards with gilt spine titling and issued in a pictorial dust jacket designed by Paul Bacon; the jacket's front flap should carry its original printed price
- German original published as Ansichten eines Clowns by Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 1963
- Publisher imprint reads McGraw-Hill
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Heinrich Böll |
| Publisher | McGraw-Hill |
| Year | 1965 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First US edition in English, translated by Leila Vennewitz, published by McGraw-Hill, New York, 1965 (247 pp.), octavo |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First US edition in English, translated by Leila Vennewitz, published by McGraw-Hill, New York, 1965 (247 pp.), octavo. Bound in black cloth boards with gilt spine titling and issued in a pictorial dust jacket designed by Paul Bacon; the jacket's front flap should carry its original printed price. German original published as Ansichten eines Clowns by Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 1963.

## Is this the true first?
The first English-language edition is the McGraw-Hill US printing of 1965 (Vennewitz translation). A UK edition from Weidenfeld & Nicolson followed the same year. The true first overall is the German Kiepenheuer & Witsch edition of 1963.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later reprints and mass-market paperbacks are not the first edition; confirm the 1965 McGraw-Hill imprint on the title and copyright pages, and note that a McGraw-Hill second printing exists that is otherwise similar, so verify no later-printing statement is present.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Clown (Ansichten eines Clowns)* by Heinrich Böll a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-clown-ansichten-eines-clowns
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.