# Is "The Lost Son and Other Poems" by Theodore Roethke a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Lost Son and Other Poems by Theodore Roethke (Doubleday, 1948) is identified by: First edition, Doubleday & Company, Garden City, cloth in pictorial dust jacket, 64 pages. US Doubleday (1948) is the true first; the John Lehmann UK edition (1949, 62 pages) follows.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, Doubleday & Company, Garden City, cloth in pictorial dust jacket, 64 pages
- First printing carries the 'First Edition' statement per Doubleday convention
- Publisher imprint reads Doubleday
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Theodore Roethke |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
| Year | 1948 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, Doubleday & Company, Garden City, cloth in pictorial dust jacket, 64 pages |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition, Doubleday & Company, Garden City, cloth in pictorial dust jacket, 64 pages. First printing carries the 'First Edition' statement per Doubleday convention.

## Is this the true first?
US Doubleday (1948) is the true first; the John Lehmann UK edition (1949, 62 pages) follows.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition for the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Lost Son and Other Poems* by Theodore Roethke a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-lost-son-and-other-poems
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.