# Is "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" by T.S. Eliot a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot (Faber & Faber, 1939) is identified by: First edition, published 5 October 1939, with the cover design by Eliot himself (not illustrated inside). UK Faber 1939 with Eliot's own cover design is the true first, preceding the US Harcourt, Brace edition (1939) and the 1940 Bentley-illustrated edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, published 5 October 1939, with the cover design by Eliot himself (not illustrated inside)
- Yellow/buff cloth boards with the author's design in red on the front, in dust jacket
- Gallup A42
- The Nicolas Bentley fully illustrated version is a later edition, first published 1940
- Publisher imprint reads Faber & Faber
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | T.S. Eliot |
| Publisher | Faber & Faber |
| Year | 1939 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, published 5 October 1939, with the cover design by Eliot himself (not illustrated inside) |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, published 5 October 1939, with the cover design by Eliot himself (not illustrated inside). Yellow/buff cloth boards with the author's design in red on the front, in dust jacket. Gallup A42. The Nicolas Bentley fully illustrated version is a later edition, first published 1940.

## Is this the true first?
UK Faber 1939 with Eliot's own cover design is the true first, preceding the US Harcourt, Brace edition (1939) and the 1940 Bentley-illustrated edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition; many later printings and illustrated editions follow. The first has the 1939 date and Eliot's cover, with no interior illustrations.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats* by T.S. Eliot a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/old-possums-book-of-practical-cats
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.