# Is "The Collected Stories of Jean Stafford" by Jean Stafford a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Collected Stories of Jean Stafford by Jean Stafford (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1969) is identified by: FSG first edition has 'First printing, 1969' stated on the copyright page, in first-issue purple cloth and first-issue jacket (jacket design by Guy Fleming) bearing the printed price. The US FSG 1969 printing is the true first; the 'First printing, 1969' copyright-page statement is the identifying point.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- FSG first edition has 'First printing, 1969' stated on the copyright page, in first-issue purple cloth and first-issue jacket (jacket design by Guy Fleming) bearing the printed price
- Won the 1970 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus & Giroux
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Jean Stafford |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus & Giroux |
| Year | 1969 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | FSG first edition has 'First printing, 1969' stated on the copyright page, in first-issue purple cloth and first-issue jacket (jacket… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
FSG first edition has 'First printing, 1969' stated on the copyright page, in first-issue purple cloth and first-issue jacket (jacket design by Guy Fleming) bearing the printed price. Won the 1970 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

## Is this the true first?
The US FSG 1969 printing is the true first; the 'First printing, 1969' copyright-page statement is the identifying point.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club copies carry a blind-stamp; later printings change the printing statement on the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Collected Stories of Jean Stafford* by Jean Stafford a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-collected-stories-of-jean-stafford
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.