# Is "The Western Lands" by William S. Burroughs a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Western Lands by William S. Burroughs (Viking, 1987) is identified by: US Viking hardcover, 1987 (ISBN 0-670-81352-0), the trade first, concluding the trilogy that began with Cities of the Red Night and The Place of Dead Roads. The trade first is the 1987 Viking hardcover.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US Viking hardcover, 1987 (ISBN 0-670-81352-0), the trade first, concluding the trilogy that began with Cities of the Red Night and The Place of Dead Roads
- Octavo, bound in half cloth (black cloth boards with a green cloth spine) with gilt spine lettering and pictorial/illustrated endpapers
- The first-issue dust jacket was designed by Neil Stuart with a full wraparound illustration by Deborah Pinkney; a correct jacket retains its printed price
- The copyright page states first edition with the number sequence closing in 1
- Publisher imprint reads Viking
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | William S. Burroughs |
| Publisher | Viking |
| Year | 1987 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US Viking hardcover, 1987 (ISBN 0-670-81352-0), the trade first, concluding the trilogy… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
US Viking hardcover, 1987 (ISBN 0-670-81352-0), the trade first, concluding the trilogy that began with Cities of the Red Night and The Place of Dead Roads. Octavo, bound in half cloth (black cloth boards with a green cloth spine) with gilt spine lettering and pictorial/illustrated endpapers. The first-issue dust jacket was designed by Neil Stuart with a full wraparound illustration by Deborah Pinkney; a correct jacket retains its printed price. The copyright page states first edition with the number sequence closing in 1.

## Is this the true first?
The trade first is the 1987 Viking hardcover. Copies signed or inscribed by Burroughs in 1987 exist and are the first printing; treat any separately described signed limited issue cautiously, as most signed copies encountered are signed trade firsts.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition. Reprints and the UK edition differ from the Viking half-cloth binding and Stuart/Pinkney jacket.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Western Lands* by William S. Burroughs a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-western-lands
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.