# Is "The Painted Bird" by Jerzy Kosinski a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski (Houghton Mifflin, 1965) is identified by: First edition so stated, first state with the textual point: the final line of type at the foot of page 270 is duplicated at the head of page 271. True first is the 1965 Houghton Mifflin edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition so stated, first state with the textual point: the final line of type at the foot of page 270 is duplicated at the head of page 271
- Issued in brown cloth, front cover blind-stamped, with the first-issue priced pictorial dust jacket
- Original 1965 text, later revised with a new Afterword in 1976
- Publisher imprint reads Houghton Mifflin
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Jerzy Kosinski |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
| Year | 1965 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition so stated, first state with the textual point: the final line of type at the foot of page 270 is duplicated at the head of… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition so stated, first state with the textual point: the final line of type at the foot of page 270 is duplicated at the head of page 271. Issued in brown cloth, front cover blind-stamped, with the first-issue priced pictorial dust jacket. Original 1965 text, later revised with a new Afterword in 1976.

## Is this the true first?
True first is the 1965 Houghton Mifflin edition. This was his first novel under his own name, following the earlier 'Joseph Novak' nonfiction. UK edition: W. H. Allen, 1966.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book club edition is blind-stamped to the rear board, lacks the printed price, and is noted as a book club edition on the jacket flap.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Painted Bird* by Jerzy Kosinski a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-painted-bird
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.