# Is "The Plough and the Stars" by Sean O'Casey a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Plough and the Stars by Sean O'Casey (Macmillan and Co., Ltd., London, 1926) is identified by: True first: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., London, 1926 (Ayling & Durkan A13a). London Macmillan and Co., Ltd.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., London, 1926 (Ayling & Durkan A13a)
- Bound in blue/blue-green paper-covered boards with a tan/beige cloth backstrip and printed paper title labels on the upper cover and spine, top edge stained green, fore- and tail-edges untrimmed; collation viii + 137 pp + 4 pp publisher's advertisements; issued in a fragile unclipped dust jacket
- Identify by the 1926 London Macmillan imprint, the paper-label board binding, and the 137-page text with 4-page ads
- Publisher imprint reads Macmillan and Co., Ltd., London
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Sean O'Casey |
| Publisher | Macmillan and Co., Ltd., London |
| Year | 1926 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., London, 1926 (Ayling & Durkan A13a) |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
True first: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., London, 1926 (Ayling & Durkan A13a). Bound in blue/blue-green paper-covered boards with a tan/beige cloth backstrip and printed paper title labels on the upper cover and spine, top edge stained green, fore- and tail-edges untrimmed; collation viii + 137 pp + 4 pp publisher's advertisements; issued in a fragile unclipped dust jacket. Identify by the 1926 London Macmillan imprint, the paper-label board binding, and the 137-page text with 4-page ads.

## Is this the true first?
London Macmillan and Co., Ltd. 1926 is the true first and precedes the US first American edition (The Macmillan Company, New York, 1926), which is bound in green cloth. Both dated 1926; London has priority. Written in English. Census claim confirmed.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The green-cloth New York 1926 printing is the first American, not a book-club issue. No book-club edition of the London first is documented.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Plough and the Stars* by Sean O'Casey a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-plough-and-the-stars
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.