# Is "Sexual Perversity in Chicago and The Duck Variations" by David Mamet a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Sexual Perversity in Chicago and The Duck Variations by David Mamet (Grove Press, 1978) is identified by: Grove Press, New York, 1978, with 'First Printing 1978' stated on the copyright page, issued simultaneously in two forms: a cloth hardcover in dust jacket (ISBN 0-394-50161-1) and a wrappers issue (ISBN 0-394-17043-1). The US Grove Press 1978 edition is the first collected edition, in a simultaneous cloth-in-jacket issue and a wrappers issue.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Grove Press, New York, 1978, with 'First Printing 1978' stated on the copyright page, issued simultaneously in two forms: a cloth hardcover in dust jacket (ISBN 0-394-50161-1) and a wrappers issue (ISBN 0-394-17043-1)
- The scarcer cloth issue is the collected hardcover form; the blue cloth is prone to sunning along the top and bottom edges
- Both forms carry the same 1978 first-printing statement
- Publisher imprint reads Grove Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | David Mamet |
| Publisher | Grove Press |
| Year | 1978 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Grove Press, New York, 1978, with 'First Printing 1978' stated on the copyright page, issued simultaneously in two forms: a cloth hardcover… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Grove Press, New York, 1978, with 'First Printing 1978' stated on the copyright page, issued simultaneously in two forms: a cloth hardcover in dust jacket (ISBN 0-394-50161-1) and a wrappers issue (ISBN 0-394-17043-1). The scarcer cloth issue is the collected hardcover form; the blue cloth is prone to sunning along the top and bottom edges. Both forms carry the same 1978 first-printing statement.

## Is this the true first?
The US Grove Press 1978 edition is the first collected edition, in a simultaneous cloth-in-jacket issue and a wrappers issue.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition typically encountered. Distinguish the two simultaneous 1978 issues by ISBN — cloth 0-394-50161-1, wrappers 0-394-17043-1 — and confirm the 'First Printing 1978' statement on the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Sexual Perversity in Chicago and The Duck Variations* by David Mamet a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/sexual-perversity-in-chicago-and-the-duck-variations
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.