# Is "The Mills of the Kavanaughs" by Robert Lowell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Mills of the Kavanaughs by Robert Lowell (Harcourt, Brace, 1951) is identified by: First edition, first printing, Harcourt, Brace; black cloth with gilt spine lettering, in yellow-and-green dust jacket; small octavo, 55 pages. US Harcourt, Brace; precedes Faber & Faber UK (1952).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing, Harcourt, Brace; black cloth with gilt spine lettering, in yellow-and-green dust jacket; small octavo, 55 pages
- First printing has no statement of later impression
- Jacket spine commonly faded
- Publisher imprint reads Harcourt, Brace
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert Lowell |
| Publisher | Harcourt, Brace |
| Year | 1951 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing, Harcourt, Brace; black cloth with gilt spine lettering, in… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing, Harcourt, Brace; black cloth with gilt spine lettering, in yellow-and-green dust jacket; small octavo, 55 pages. First printing has no statement of later impression. Jacket spine commonly faded.

## Is this the true first?
US Harcourt, Brace; precedes Faber & Faber UK (1952). Title poem plus five shorter poems.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Mills of the Kavanaughs* by Robert Lowell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-mills-of-the-kavanaughs
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.