# Is "Arrowsmith" by Sinclair Lewis a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis (Harcourt, Brace & Company, 1925) is identified by: The true first is the signed limited edition, numbered and limited to 500 copies on handmade paper, signed by the author, quarter-bound in white buckram and blue boards with a paper spine label, top edges gilt, with an extra spine label tipped in, issued in glassine within a blue cardboard slipcase. US Harcourt, Brace 1925 is the true first, with precedence belonging to the 500-copy signed limited edition on handmade paper.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first is the signed limited edition, numbered and limited to 500 copies on handmade paper, signed by the author, quarter-bound in white buckram and blue boards with a paper spine label, top edges gilt, with an extra spine label tipped in, issued in glassine within a blue cardboard slipcase
- The first trade edition is the second printing: it is so identified on the copyright page and was issued in orange lettering on blue boards in a dust jacket
- Lewis declined the Pulitzer for this novel
- Publisher imprint reads Harcourt, Brace & Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Sinclair Lewis |
| Publisher | Harcourt, Brace & Company |
| Year | 1925 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first is the signed limited edition, numbered and limited to 500 copies on handmade paper, signed by the author, quarter-bound in… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The true first is the signed limited edition, numbered and limited to 500 copies on handmade paper, signed by the author, quarter-bound in white buckram and blue boards with a paper spine label, top edges gilt, with an extra spine label tipped in, issued in glassine within a blue cardboard slipcase. The first trade edition is the second printing: it is so identified on the copyright page and was issued in orange lettering on blue boards in a dust jacket. Lewis declined the Pulitzer for this novel.

## Is this the true first?
US Harcourt, Brace 1925 is the true first, with precedence belonging to the 500-copy signed limited edition on handmade paper. The trade edition follows and its copyright page identifies it as the first trade edition (effectively the second printing).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Grosset & Dunlap reprints are clearly marked and later. No major book-club edition of note.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Arrowsmith* by Sinclair Lewis a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/arrowsmith
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.