# Is "The Secret Meaning of Things" by Lawrence Ferlinghetti a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Secret Meaning of Things by Lawrence Ferlinghetti (New Directions, 1968) is identified by: Copyright 1968, trade issues appearing 1969. True first is the New Directions issue carrying the 1968 copyright.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Copyright 1968, trade issues appearing 1969
- Issued in both a clothbound hardcover (blue cloth lettered gilt on spine) and in printed card wrappers, plus a limited signed and numbered hardcover of 150 copies on Curtis Rag
- Dealers report the wrappered issue slightly preceded the trade hardcover
- Publisher imprint reads New Directions
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Lawrence Ferlinghetti |
| Publisher | New Directions |
| Year | 1968 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | Copyright 1968, trade issues appearing 1969 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Poems. Copyright 1968, trade issues appearing 1969. Issued in both a clothbound hardcover (blue cloth lettered gilt on spine) and in printed card wrappers, plus a limited signed and numbered hardcover of 150 copies on Curtis Rag. Dealers report the wrappered issue slightly preceded the trade hardcover.

## Is this the true first?
True first is the New Directions issue carrying the 1968 copyright. Precedence between the wrappered and clothbound trade issues is not firmly settled; some dealers state the softcover appeared slightly ahead of the trade hardcover. The clothbound copies were issued in a slipcase.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Secret Meaning of Things* by Lawrence Ferlinghetti a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-secret-meaning-of-things
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.