# Is "The Elder Statesman" by T.S. Eliot a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Elder Statesman by T.S. Eliot (Faber & Faber, 1959) is identified by: Eliot's last completed play; first edition bound in publisher's red cloth, gilt-lettered on the spine, with dust jacket, 109 pages. Faber & Faber (London), Gallup A70a, precedes the US Farrar, Straus & Cudahy edition (Gallup A70b) by a few days in the spring of 1959, the US edition following on 13 April 1959.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Eliot's last completed play; first edition bound in publisher's red cloth, gilt-lettered on the spine, with dust jacket, 109 pages
- The first printing carries no later-printing statement
- Cataloguers record an early-issue jacket point: the first jacket is green, with later copies appearing in a thinner grey jacket
- This is Gallup A70a
- Publisher imprint reads Faber & Faber
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | T.S. Eliot |
| Publisher | Faber & Faber |
| Year | 1959 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Eliot's last completed play; first edition bound in publisher's red cloth, gilt-lettered… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Eliot's last completed play; first edition bound in publisher's red cloth, gilt-lettered on the spine, with dust jacket, 109 pages. The first printing carries no later-printing statement. Cataloguers record an early-issue jacket point: the first jacket is green, with later copies appearing in a thinner grey jacket. This is Gallup A70a.

## Is this the true first?
Faber & Faber (London), Gallup A70a, precedes the US Farrar, Straus & Cudahy edition (Gallup A70b) by a few days in the spring of 1959, the US edition following on 13 April 1959.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Elder Statesman* by T.S. Eliot a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-elder-statesman
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.