# Is "The Place of Dead Roads" by William S. Burroughs a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Place of Dead Roads by William S. Burroughs (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1983) is identified by: The trade first edition is bound in full brown cloth and states 'First Edition' on the copyright page, with first printing shown by the number sequence there. The trade first is the 1983 Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York hardcover in brown cloth.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The trade first edition is bound in full brown cloth and states 'First Edition' on the copyright page, with first printing shown by the number sequence there
- The wraparound dust jacket reproduces the well-known archival photograph (from the Colorado State Historical Society) of nineteenth-century Americans posed as Native Americans; a correct jacket should retain its printed price
- A signed, numbered limited edition of 300 copies was issued simultaneously, bound in white cloth with copper lettering and blind stamping and housed in a slipcase, each signed by Burroughs
- Bibliographic references: Shoaf I.60/60(a) and Schottlaender A56(A)
- Publisher imprint reads Holt, Rinehart and Winston
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | William S. Burroughs |
| Publisher | Holt, Rinehart and Winston |
| Year | 1983 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The trade first edition is bound in full brown cloth and states 'First Edition' on the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The trade first edition is bound in full brown cloth and states 'First Edition' on the copyright page, with first printing shown by the number sequence there. The wraparound dust jacket reproduces the well-known archival photograph (from the Colorado State Historical Society) of nineteenth-century Americans posed as Native Americans; a correct jacket should retain its printed price. A signed, numbered limited edition of 300 copies was issued simultaneously, bound in white cloth with copper lettering and blind stamping and housed in a slipcase, each signed by Burroughs. Bibliographic references: Shoaf I.60/60(a) and Schottlaender A56(A).

## Is this the true first?
The trade first is the 1983 Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York hardcover in brown cloth. The signed/numbered limited of 300 copies in white cloth and slipcase was published alongside it; neither precedes the other in text, but the limited is the signed issue.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition. Distinguish the brown-cloth trade first from the white-cloth signed limited of 300, and from later Holt printings and paperback issues.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Place of Dead Roads* by William S. Burroughs a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-place-of-dead-roads
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.