# Is "The Collected Later Poems" by William Carlos Williams a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Collected Later Poems by William Carlos Williams (New Directions, 1950) is identified by: First edition, New Directions, in red cloth with dust jacket. US New Directions first, 1950.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, New Directions, in red cloth with dust jacket
- The defining first-issue point is a separately printed pamphlet titled 'The Rose' laid in at the rear, containing poems accidentally omitted from the setting; a correct first should retain this laid-in pamphlet
- Catalogued as Wallace A31
- Publisher imprint reads New Directions
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | William Carlos Williams |
| Publisher | New Directions |
| Year | 1950 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, New Directions, in red cloth with dust jacket |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition, New Directions, in red cloth with dust jacket. The defining first-issue point is a separately printed pamphlet titled 'The Rose' laid in at the rear, containing poems accidentally omitted from the setting; a correct first should retain this laid-in pamphlet. Catalogued as Wallace A31.

## Is this the true first?
US New Directions first, 1950. A revised edition followed in 1963. First-issue copies include the laid-in 'The Rose' pamphlet.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Collected Later Poems* by William Carlos Williams a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-collected-later-poems
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.