# Is "The Little Disturbances of Man" by Grace Paley a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Little Disturbances of Man by Grace Paley (Doubleday, 1959) is identified by: The US Doubleday (Garden City, New York, 1959) hardcover is the true first and Paley's first book. US Doubleday 1959 is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The US Doubleday (Garden City, New York, 1959) hardcover is the true first and Paley's first book
- Doubleday first printings state 'First Edition' on the copyright page and remove it on later printings, so a true first shows the stated 'First Edition.' It is bound in tan cloth, the spine lettered in black, with an orange pictorial device to the front board
- The dust jacket is a priced jacket with the price present at the front flap
- Publisher imprint reads Doubleday
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Grace Paley |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
| Year | 1959 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The US Doubleday (Garden City, New York, 1959) hardcover is the true first and Paley's first book |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The US Doubleday (Garden City, New York, 1959) hardcover is the true first and Paley's first book. Doubleday first printings state 'First Edition' on the copyright page and remove it on later printings, so a true first shows the stated 'First Edition.' It is bound in tan cloth, the spine lettered in black, with an orange pictorial device to the front board; 189 pp. The dust jacket is a priced jacket with the price present at the front flap.

## Is this the true first?
US Doubleday 1959 is the true first. CORRECTION to census: the first UK edition is Weidenfeld & Nicolson (London, 1960) — red boards lettered in gilt at the spine — NOT André Deutsch; no André Deutsch edition is corroborated. The UK 1960 issue is the later, scarcer printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Little Disturbances of Man* by Grace Paley a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-little-disturbances-of-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.