# Is "Writings and Drawings" by Bob Dylan a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Writings and Drawings by Bob Dylan (Alfred A. Knopf, 1973) is identified by: US Knopf, 1973; issued in laminated pictorial boards (distinctive pink tone, with a photo of Dylan on the lower cover) WITHOUT dust jacket as issued; quarto, 368 pp; illustrated endpapers and full-page line drawings by Dylan; ISBN 0-394-48243-3. US Knopf 1973 is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US Knopf, 1973; issued in laminated pictorial boards (distinctive pink tone, with a photo of Dylan on the lower cover) WITHOUT dust jacket as issued; quarto, 368 pp; illustrated endpapers and full-page line drawings by Dylan
- ISBN 0-394-48243-3
- Stated first with no later printing on the copyright page
- Borzoi imprint
- Publisher imprint reads Alfred A. Knopf
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Bob Dylan |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
| Year | 1973 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US Knopf, 1973; issued in laminated pictorial boards (distinctive pink tone, with a photo of Dylan on the lower cover) WITHOUT dust jacket… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
US Knopf, 1973; issued in laminated pictorial boards (distinctive pink tone, with a photo of Dylan on the lower cover) WITHOUT dust jacket as issued; quarto, 368 pp; illustrated endpapers and full-page line drawings by Dylan; ISBN 0-394-48243-3. Stated first with no later printing on the copyright page; Borzoi imprint.

## Is this the true first?
US Knopf 1973 is the true first. The UK Jonathan Cape edition (ISBN 0224008676) is a separate British first. The text was later superseded by 'Lyrics 1962-1985' (1985), which reprints this content plus new material; that later compilation is not a reprint of this book's first edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Because it was issued without a jacket, 'no dust jacket' is correct rather than a defect; later printings show additional Knopf printing codes. Confirm the 1973 date and absence of later-printing notation.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Writings and Drawings* by Bob Dylan a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/writings-and-drawings
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.