# Is "Under the Sea-Wind" by Rachel Carson a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Under the Sea-Wind by Rachel Carson (Simon & Schuster, 1941) is identified by: Blue-gray linen boards with gilt bird stamping to the front and a tan cloth spine bearing a blue paper label with gilt lettering; eight full-page illustrations by Howard Frech; first-state dust jacket with the original price on the front flap. US Simon & Schuster (New York) is the true first, published November 1941.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Blue-gray linen boards with gilt bird stamping to the front and a tan cloth spine bearing a blue paper label with gilt lettering; eight full-page illustrations by Howard Frech; first-state dust jacket with the original price on the front flap
- Carson's scarce first book
- Publisher imprint reads Simon & Schuster
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Rachel Carson |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
| Year | 1941 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Blue-gray linen boards with gilt bird stamping to the front and a tan cloth spine bearing a blue paper label with gilt lettering; eight… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Blue-gray linen boards with gilt bird stamping to the front and a tan cloth spine bearing a blue paper label with gilt lettering; eight full-page illustrations by Howard Frech; first-state dust jacket with the original price on the front flap. Carson's scarce first book.

## Is this the true first?
US Simon & Schuster (New York) is the true first, published November 1941. The later Oxford reissue is 'first thus,' not the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Simon & Schuster never reprinted the original 1941 edition, so it is genuinely scarce; the far more common Oxford reissue is not the true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Under the Sea-Wind* by Rachel Carson a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/under-the-sea-wind
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.