# Is "The Street of Crocodiles" by Bruno Schulz a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Street of Crocodiles by Bruno Schulz (Towarzystwo Wydawnicze "Rój", Warsaw, 1934) is identified by: True first is the Polish 'Sklepy cynamonowe' (Towarzystwo Wydawnicze Rój, Warsaw, 1934). Polish-language true first (Rój, Warsaw, 1934).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is the Polish 'Sklepy cynamonowe' (Towarzystwo Wydawnicze Rój, Warsaw, 1934)
- The Celina Wieniewska translation first appeared in English in 1963 under two titles: the UK edition from MacGibbon & Kee, London, was 'Cinnamon Shops and Other Stories' (catalogued by ABAA/ILAB dealers as the first edition in English; black cloth lettered in red, pictorial dust jacket), and the US edition from Walker & Company, New York, was 'The Street of Crocodiles' (first American edition, first printing; baby-blue cloth lettered in blue on the spine, 159 pp.)
- Dealer descriptions state the London MacGibbon & Kee edition precedes the American, with the Walker sheets printed in Poland from type set in England — so the true first English text is the London 'Cinnamon Shops,' while 'The Street of Crocodiles' is the first American under a changed title
- Publisher imprint reads Towarzystwo Wydawnicze "Rój", Warsaw
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Bruno Schulz |
| Publisher | Towarzystwo Wydawnicze "Rój", Warsaw |
| Year | 1934 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first is the Polish 'Sklepy cynamonowe' (Towarzystwo Wydawnicze Rój, Warsaw, 1934) |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
True first is the Polish 'Sklepy cynamonowe' (Towarzystwo Wydawnicze Rój, Warsaw, 1934). The Celina Wieniewska translation first appeared in English in 1963 under two titles: the UK edition from MacGibbon & Kee, London, was 'Cinnamon Shops and Other Stories' (catalogued by ABAA/ILAB dealers as the first edition in English; black cloth lettered in red, pictorial dust jacket), and the US edition from Walker & Company, New York, was 'The Street of Crocodiles' (first American edition, first printing; baby-blue cloth lettered in blue on the spine, 159 pp.). Dealer descriptions state the London MacGibbon & Kee edition precedes the American, with the Walker sheets printed in Poland from type set in England — so the true first English text is the London 'Cinnamon Shops,' while 'The Street of Crocodiles' is the first American under a changed title.

## Is this the true first?
Polish-language true first (Rój, Warsaw, 1934). In English the London MacGibbon & Kee 'Cinnamon Shops and Other Stories' (1963) precedes the New York Walker & Company 'The Street of Crocodiles' (1963); both are collected, and the record's title matches the US Walker issue. First-thus caution: the two 1963 issues carry different titles for the same Wieniewska text.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Penguin/Picador and Viking printings under 'The Street of Crocodiles' are reprints, not the 1963 firsts. The Walker first American is identified as first printing sharing the English typesetting (sheets printed in Poland); the London MacGibbon & Kee is the first edition in English.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Street of Crocodiles* by Bruno Schulz a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-street-of-crocodiles
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.