# Is "Under Milk Wood" by Dylan Thomas a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas (J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd, London, 1954) is identified by: First edition, first impression: octavo, pp. The Dent (London) 1954 issue is the true first book publication and precedes New Directions (New York), 1954, which the trade uniformly describes as the first American edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first impression: octavo, pp. ix + 101, in the publisher's brown cloth lettered in gilt at the spine, with the preface and musical settings by Daniel Jones
- The copyright page reads "First published 1954" with no impression line added; the play reprinted immediately and copies stating the second, third and fourth impressions of the first edition circulate freely — a listing that says "first edition" and also names an impression number is a reprint
- The jacket should be present and unclipped, with the price still at the front flap
- Thomas died in November 1953 and the manuscript was delivered to Dent shortly before his death, so this is a posthumous first
- Publisher imprint reads J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd, London
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Dylan Thomas |
| Publisher | J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd, London |
| Year | 1954 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | First edition, first impression: octavo, pp. ix + 101, in the publisher's brown cloth lettered in gilt at the spine, with the preface and… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, first impression: octavo, pp. ix + 101, in the publisher's brown cloth lettered in gilt at the spine, with the preface and musical settings by Daniel Jones. The copyright page reads "First published 1954" with no impression line added; the play reprinted immediately and copies stating the second, third and fourth impressions of the first edition circulate freely — a listing that says "first edition" and also names an impression number is a reprint. The jacket should be present and unclipped, with the price still at the front flap. Thomas died in November 1953 and the manuscript was delivered to Dent shortly before his death, so this is a posthumous first.

## Is this the true first?
The Dent (London) 1954 issue is the true first book publication and precedes New Directions (New York), 1954, which the trade uniformly describes as the first American edition. Both editions are collected — the Dent as the first, the New Directions as the first American — but only Dent is the true first. Sources disagree on the exact month of the Dent issue (February is the most repeated date; at least one dealer says July), so no month should be relied on for identification. Earlier magazine appearances of the text were abridged and are not book editions.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition documented for the 1954 issue. The reprint tells are Dent's own impression statements on the copyright page, and the later Dent/Everyman and New Directions paperback reissues, which are still in print and are "first thus" at best.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Under Milk Wood* by Dylan Thomas a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/under-milk-wood
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.