# Is "The Monkey Wrench Gang" by Edward Abbey a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey (J.B. Lippincott, 1975) is identified by: The true first edition, first printing was published by J. US Lippincott (1975) is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first edition, first printing was published by J. B. Lippincott Company in 1975
- It is bound in half red cloth over black boards, with the title stamped in silver on the spine and a small silver-stamped monkey wrench on the front board, and has two-page contiguous map endpapers front and rear
- The first-issue dust jacket was designed by Paul Bacon and should carry its printed price on the front flap
- Signed copies add Abbey's autograph, but the printing points above establish the edition
- Publisher imprint reads J.B. Lippincott
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Edward Abbey |
| Publisher | J.B. Lippincott |
| Year | 1975 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first edition, first printing was published by J. B. Lippincott Company in 1975 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The true first edition, first printing was published by J. B. Lippincott Company in 1975. It is bound in half red cloth over black boards, with the title stamped in silver on the spine and a small silver-stamped monkey wrench on the front board, and has two-page contiguous map endpapers front and rear. The first-issue dust jacket was designed by Paul Bacon and should carry its printed price on the front flap. Signed copies add Abbey's autograph, but the printing points above establish the edition.

## Is this the true first?
US Lippincott (1975) is the true first. The 1985 Dream Garden Press 'Tenth Anniversary' edition illustrated by R. Crumb is a desirable 'first thus' (often signed/limited) but is NOT the true first. UK edition follows the US.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club editions and later printings reprint the text but are not the first edition. Note in particular that the well-known R. Crumb-illustrated edition is the 1985 tenth-anniversary edition (Dream Garden Press), NOT the 1975 first; a Crumb wrap-around jacket therefore indicates a later illustrated edition, not the Lippincott first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Monkey Wrench Gang* by Edward Abbey a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-monkey-wrench-gang
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.