# Is "The Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams (Random House, 1945) is identified by: Copyright page states 'FIRST PRINTING' (standard Random House practice). US Random House 1945 is the true first edition (Williams' first published full-length play in book form; precedes the UK John Lehmann edition).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Copyright page states 'FIRST PRINTING' (standard Random House practice)
- Approximately 5,000 copies
- Frontispiece photograph from the original production
- Issued in cloth binding color variants (rose-pink, brick/reddish-orange, dull red) with no established priority among them
- Crandell A1.1.a
- Publisher imprint reads Random House
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Tennessee Williams |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Year | 1945 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Copyright page states 'FIRST PRINTING' (standard Random House practice) |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Copyright page states 'FIRST PRINTING' (standard Random House practice). Approximately 5,000 copies. Frontispiece photograph from the original production. Issued in cloth binding color variants (rose-pink, brick/reddish-orange, dull red) with no established priority among them. Crandell A1.1.a.

## Is this the true first?
US Random House 1945 is the true first edition (Williams' first published full-length play in book form; precedes the UK John Lehmann edition). Author-signed copies are inscribed trade copies.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Distinguished from reprints by the 'FIRST PRINTING' slug on the copyright page; later Random House printings drop that slug or add printing history. Not a common book-club target.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Glass Menagerie* by Tennessee Williams a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-glass-menagerie
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.