# Is "Three Plays for Puritans" by George Bernard Shaw a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Three Plays for Puritans by George Bernard Shaw (Grant Richards, London, 1901) is identified by: First edition: Grant Richards, London, January 1901, in an issue of 2,500 copies, bound in green cloth (crown 8vo, published at the printed price); the volume gathers 'The Devil's Disciple,' 'Caesar and Cleopatra,' and 'Captain Brassbound's Conversion' with Shaw's long three-part preface. London Grant Richards (1901) is the accepted true first; the Chicago/New York Herbert S.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition: Grant Richards, London, January 1901, in an issue of 2,500 copies, bound in green cloth (crown 8vo, published at the printed price); the volume gathers 'The Devil's Disciple,' 'Caesar and Cleopatra,' and 'Captain Brassbound's Conversion' with Shaw's long three-part preface
- The American issue (Herbert S. Stone & Co., Chicago and New York, 1901) followed the same year
- Beyond the 1901 Grant Richards imprint, green cloth and the 2,500-copy issue, sharp state points are not documented in the trade record; a first is identified chiefly by the Grant Richards title page dated 1901 and the absence of any later-impression statement
- Publisher imprint reads Grant Richards, London
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | George Bernard Shaw |
| Publisher | Grant Richards, London |
| Year | 1901 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition: Grant Richards, London, January 1901, in an issue of 2,500 copies, bound in green cloth (crown 8vo, published at the printed… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition: Grant Richards, London, January 1901, in an issue of 2,500 copies, bound in green cloth (crown 8vo, published at the printed price); the volume gathers 'The Devil's Disciple,' 'Caesar and Cleopatra,' and 'Captain Brassbound's Conversion' with Shaw's long three-part preface. The American issue (Herbert S. Stone & Co., Chicago and New York, 1901) followed the same year. Beyond the 1901 Grant Richards imprint, green cloth and the 2,500-copy issue, sharp state points are not documented in the trade record; a first is identified chiefly by the Grant Richards title page dated 1901 and the absence of any later-impression statement.

## Is this the true first?
London Grant Richards (1901) is the accepted true first; the Chicago/New York Herbert S. Stone issue appeared the same year and followed (the Gale/DLB reference lists 'London: Richards, 1901' ahead of 'Stone, 1901'). Precedence over the Stone issue by a specific interval is not documented, but the London edition is conventionally regarded as first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Grant Richards and Constable reprints, and the American Stone printings (e.g., a 1904 Stone issue exists), follow; no book-club issue documented for the 1901 first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Three Plays for Puritans* by George Bernard Shaw a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/three-plays-for-puritans
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.