# Is "The Green Man" by Kingsley Amis a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Green Man by Kingsley Amis (Jonathan Cape, London, 1969) is identified by: Cape states 'First published 1969' (the house also uses the form 'First published in Great Britain 1969') on the copyright page of the first impression and notes subsequent printings in the same place, so a first is identified by that statement with no reprint line added beneath it (Quill & Brush publisher guide). The true first is the UK Jonathan Cape edition, London, 1969.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Cape states 'First published 1969' (the house also uses the form 'First published in Great Britain 1969') on the copyright page of the first impression and notes subsequent printings in the same place, so a first is identified by that statement with no reprint line added beneath it (Quill & Brush publisher guide)
- Collated octavo, 253 pp., in the publisher's blue cloth lettered in gilt on the spine, with the top edge stained black
- The dust wrapper on a first-issue copy is unclipped, a priced jacket with the price present at the front flap; jackets on this title are very often found price-clipped
- Dealer catalogues attribute the wrapper design to Colin Andrews, but that attribution rests on a single catalogue source and should be treated as provisional
- Publisher imprint reads Jonathan Cape, London
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Kingsley Amis |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape, London |
| Year | 1969 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Cape states 'First published 1969' (the house also uses the form 'First published in Great Britain 1969') on the copyright page of the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Cape states 'First published 1969' (the house also uses the form 'First published in Great Britain 1969') on the copyright page of the first impression and notes subsequent printings in the same place, so a first is identified by that statement with no reprint line added beneath it (Quill & Brush publisher guide). Collated octavo, 253 pp., in the publisher's blue cloth lettered in gilt on the spine, with the top edge stained black. The dust wrapper on a first-issue copy is unclipped, a priced jacket with the price present at the front flap; jackets on this title are very often found price-clipped. Dealer catalogues attribute the wrapper design to Colin Andrews, but that attribution rests on a single catalogue source and should be treated as provisional.

## Is this the true first?
The true first is the UK Jonathan Cape edition, London, 1969. The first American edition followed from Harcourt, Brace & World, New York, in 1970 — a full year later, in a jacket designed by Paul Bacon — so it is a first American edition only, not a co-first or simultaneous issue; the census note is correct. Collectors seeking the first edition want the Cape; the Harcourt is collected as the first US appearance.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue of the Cape first is documented in the sources consulted. The reprint tell is positive rather than negative for this publisher: a Cape copy whose copyright page carries a 'Second impression' or later reprint line beneath the 'First published 1969' statement is a later printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Green Man* by Kingsley Amis a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-green-man
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.