# Is "The Naked Lunch" by William S. Burroughs a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs (The Olympia Press, 1959) is identified by: Green-bordered printed wrappers, Traveller's Companion series no. True first is the 1959 Olympia Paris wrappered first issue with the printed 1500-franc price.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Green-bordered printed wrappers, Traveller's Companion series no
- First issue: rear wrapper priced 'Francs: 1500' and marked not for sale in the U.S.A. or U.K.; flyleaf blank save for '76 1' printed at lower right
- Later issue has the price restated as 18 NF, typically stamped (not printed) over the original 1500-franc price
- Titled 'The Naked Lunch' on this Paris first
- Publisher imprint reads The Olympia Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | William S. Burroughs |
| Publisher | The Olympia Press |
| Year | 1959 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Green-bordered printed wrappers, Traveller's Companion series no |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Green-bordered printed wrappers, Traveller's Companion series no. 76. First issue: rear wrapper priced 'Francs: 1500' and marked not for sale in the U.S.A. or U.K.; flyleaf blank save for '76 1' printed at lower right. Later issue has the price restated as 18 NF, typically stamped (not printed) over the original 1500-franc price. Titled 'The Naked Lunch' on this Paris first.

## Is this the true first?
True first is the 1959 Olympia Paris wrappered first issue with the printed 1500-franc price. The US Grove edition of 1962 (titled 'Naked Lunch') is a separate, later, and first American edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition. Beware later Olympia printings and price-overstamped/re-priced states.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Naked Lunch* by William S. Burroughs a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-naked-lunch
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.