# Is "Waiting for Godot" by Samuel Beckett a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett (Faber and Faber, 1954/1956) is identified by: Three editions are collected. True first overall is the French Minuit 1952.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Three editions are collected
- The true first is the original French, 'En attendant Godot,' Les Editions de Minuit, Paris, 1952, in printed wrappers; the trade printing was preceded by a deluxe issue of 35 numbered large-paper copies (grands papiers)
- The first English-language edition is Grove Press, New York, 1954, in Beckett's own translation — also the first appearance in hardback, issued in cloth with dust jacket
- The first UK edition is Faber & Faber, London, 1956, which prints the expurgated text (deletions made to satisfy the Lord Chamberlain, matching the Criterion Theatre performance text)
- Faber's unexpurgated text did not appear until 1965
- For the English first, seek Grove 1954 in cloth with its first-state dust jacket
- Publisher imprint reads Faber and Faber

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Samuel Beckett |
| Publisher | Faber and Faber |
| Year | 1954/1956 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Three editions are collected |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Three editions are collected. (1) The true first is the original French, 'En attendant Godot,' Les Editions de Minuit, Paris, 1952, in printed wrappers; the trade printing was preceded by a deluxe issue of 35 numbered large-paper copies (grands papiers). (2) The first English-language edition is Grove Press, New York, 1954, in Beckett's own translation — also the first appearance in hardback, issued in cloth with dust jacket. (3) The first UK edition is Faber & Faber, London, 1956, which prints the expurgated text (deletions made to satisfy the Lord Chamberlain, matching the Criterion Theatre performance text); Faber's unexpurgated text did not appear until 1965. For the English first, seek Grove 1954 in cloth with its first-state dust jacket.

## Is this the true first?
True first overall is the French Minuit 1952. The first edition in English is Grove Press 1954 (New York), which PRECEDES the UK Faber 1956 by two years — so the English-language true first is American, not British. Faber 1956 carried Lord Chamberlain-required cuts, restored only in the 1965 Faber text.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Not a book-club book. For the UK edition, the censored 1956 text versus the later unexpurgated (1965) Faber text is the state that matters; later Grove printings and Faber acting editions are distinguished by date, printing statement, and binding.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Waiting for Godot* by Samuel Beckett a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/waiting-for-godot
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.