NMLP P-045345 · True-first precedence · minted 2026-07-19

The Mystic Masseur

V.S. Naipaul · André Deutsch (London) · 1957

UK André Deutsch (London) 1957 is the true first and precedes the first American edition, The Vanguard Press (New York) 1959, by two years; both are collected. The Vanguard printing states 'First American Edition, First Printing' and is the US first, not the world first — note that Wikipedia's infobox misleadingly dates the US edition to 1957, but every dealer copy of the Vanguard edition is dated 1959.

Full identification guide for this title →

New Mexico Literacy Project — True-first precedence NMLP P-045345 for "The Mystic Masseur" by V.S. Naipaul (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/id/point/p-045345, CC BY 4.0, dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21184548).