# Is "Desire Under the Elms" by Eugene O'Neill a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Desire Under the Elms by Eugene O'Neill (Boni & Liveright, 1925) is identified by: First separate edition, Boni & Liveright, New York, 1925, issued in the Provincetown-Greenwich Plays series, the series line appearing at the head of the title. The true first is the 1925 Boni & Liveright first separate edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First separate edition, Boni & Liveright, New York, 1925, issued in the Provincetown-Greenwich Plays series, the series line appearing at the head of the title
- Octavo, 166 pages, bound in green cloth with gilt lettering to the spine and a gilt facsimile-signature and rule decoration on the front cover; the Provincetown-Greenwich Plays device (a small window looking out on a ship in full sail) appears in the design
- Recorded in the Atkinson O'Neill bibliography
- Publisher imprint reads Boni & Liveright
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Eugene O'Neill |
| Publisher | Boni & Liveright |
| Year | 1925 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First separate edition, Boni & Liveright, New York, 1925, issued in the Provincetown-Greenwich Plays series, the series line appearing at… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First separate edition, Boni & Liveright, New York, 1925, issued in the Provincetown-Greenwich Plays series, the series line appearing at the head of the title. Octavo, 166 pages, bound in green cloth with gilt lettering to the spine and a gilt facsimile-signature and rule decoration on the front cover; the Provincetown-Greenwich Plays device (a small window looking out on a ship in full sail) appears in the design. Recorded in the Atkinson O'Neill bibliography.

## Is this the true first?
The true first is the 1925 Boni & Liveright first separate edition. The play was written and first produced in late 1924, so it could not have appeared in the two-volume Complete Works of 1924; the earlier Complete Works precedence note was incorrect and has been removed.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Desire Under the Elms* by Eugene O'Neill a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/desire-under-the-elms
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.