# Is "Welcome to the City and Other Stories" by Irwin Shaw a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Welcome to the City and Other Stories by Irwin Shaw (Random House, 1942) is identified by: Random House first edition, first printing, with the first printing stated on the copyright page and no printing-history line added. US Random House 1942 first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Random House first edition, first printing, with the first printing stated on the copyright page and no printing-history line added
- An octavo bound in red cloth with silver stamping to the spine, issued in a pictorial dust jacket that should retain its printed price on the front flap
- Shaw's second story collection, following Sailor off the Bremen
- Publisher imprint reads Random House
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Irwin Shaw |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Year | 1942 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Random House first edition, first printing, with the first printing stated on the copyright page and no printing-history line added |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Random House first edition, first printing, with the first printing stated on the copyright page and no printing-history line added. An octavo bound in red cloth with silver stamping to the spine, issued in a pictorial dust jacket that should retain its printed price on the front flap. Shaw's second story collection, following Sailor off the Bremen (1939).

## Is this the true first?
US Random House 1942 first. The stated first printing and the absence of any added printing-history line establish the first issue.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings add a printing-history line to the copyright page; the first printing carries only the first-printing statement and no such history.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Welcome to the City and Other Stories* by Irwin Shaw a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/welcome-to-the-city-and-other-stories
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.