# Is "Vieux Carré" by Tennessee Williams a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Vieux Carré by Tennessee Williams (New Directions, 1979) is identified by: New Directions, New York, 1979, first printing of the revised text. US New Directions 1979 is the true first publication in book form.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- New Directions, New York, 1979, first printing of the revised text
- Olive-green woven cloth, spine lettered in gilt, with pictorial dust jacket; a simultaneous wrappers issue was also published
- Publisher imprint reads New Directions
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Tennessee Williams |
| Publisher | New Directions |
| Year | 1979 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | New Directions, New York, 1979, first printing of the revised text |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
New Directions, New York, 1979, first printing of the revised text. Olive-green woven cloth, spine lettered in gilt, with pictorial dust jacket; a simultaneous wrappers issue was also published.

## Is this the true first?
US New Directions 1979 is the true first publication in book form. The play premiered on stage in 1977, but the New Directions edition prints the revised text.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Vieux Carré* by Tennessee Williams a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/vieux-carr
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.