# Is "A Traveler from Altruria" by William Dean Howells a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Traveler from Altruria by William Dean Howells (Harper & Brothers, 1894) is identified by: First edition, octavo, collating [1-2], [1], 2-318 pp.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, octavo, collating [1-2], [1], 2-318 pp
- (BAL 9685), bound in original red cloth stamped in gold
- The text had already appeared serialized in Cosmopolitan magazine between November 1892 and October 1893 before this first book publication
- Howells built the novel around a visiting Altrurian's dialogue with American vacationers at a New England resort, using the device to critique Gilded Age inequality more directly than in his earlier realist fiction
- Publisher imprint reads Harper & Brothers
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | William Dean Howells |
| Publisher | Harper & Brothers |
| Year | 1894 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, octavo, collating [1-2], [1], 2-318 pp |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, octavo, collating [1-2], [1], 2-318 pp. (BAL 9685), bound in original red cloth stamped in gold. The text had already appeared serialized in Cosmopolitan magazine between November 1892 and October 1893 before this first book publication. Howells built the novel around a visiting Altrurian's dialogue with American vacationers at a New England resort, using the device to critique Gilded Age inequality more directly than in his earlier realist fiction.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Traveler from Altruria* by William Dean Howells a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-traveler-from-altruria
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.