# Is "The Confidential Clerk" by T.S. Eliot a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Confidential Clerk by T.S. Eliot (Faber & Faber, 1954) is identified by: Verse play; first edition (Gallup A64a), published March 1954, in original blue cloth with the spine lettered in gilt and a dust jacket. Faber (London) precedes the US Harcourt, Brace edition of the same year (1954).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Verse play; first edition (Gallup A64a), published March 1954, in original blue cloth with the spine lettered in gilt and a dust jacket
- First-issue text carries the misprint 'Ihad' for 'I had' at page 7 (second line up); the first-issue jacket bears the original printed price
- No later-printing statement on the first impression
- Publisher imprint reads Faber & Faber
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | T.S. Eliot |
| Publisher | Faber & Faber |
| Year | 1954 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Verse play; first edition (Gallup A64a), published March 1954, in original blue cloth… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Verse play; first edition (Gallup A64a), published March 1954, in original blue cloth with the spine lettered in gilt and a dust jacket. First-issue text carries the misprint 'Ihad' for 'I had' at page 7 (second line up); the first-issue jacket bears the original printed price. No later-printing statement on the first impression.

## Is this the true first?
Faber (London) precedes the US Harcourt, Brace edition of the same year (1954). Gallup notes copies with and without the 'Ihad' misprint were bound and issued simultaneously, so the corrected state is not a distinct later issue; Eliot's own first copies existed in both states.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition relevant to the true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Confidential Clerk* by T.S. Eliot a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-confidential-clerk
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.