# Is "Howards End" by E.M. Forster a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Howards End by E.M. Forster (Edward Arnold, 1910) is identified by: First edition, first issue, 1910, one of 2,500 copies (Kirkpatrick A4a); collation [4], 344, [4] pp. Edward Arnold, London, 1910 is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first issue, 1910, one of 2,500 copies (Kirkpatrick A4a); collation [4], 344, [4] pp. of advertisements
- Bound in red cloth, spine and front cover lettered in gilt, bottom edge uncut
- The first issue has only four pages of publisher's advertisements following the text (pp
- 345-348), ending with 'A Stepson of the Soil' by Mary J. H. Skrine, with no mention of Howards End itself and no notice of a second impression
- In the second issue, from later in 1910, the advertisements extend to eight pages and include a notice of this novel
- No jacket points are documented for this title
- Publisher imprint reads Edward Arnold

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | E.M. Forster |
| Publisher | Edward Arnold |
| Year | 1910 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first issue, 1910, one of 2,500 copies (Kirkpatrick A4a); collation [4], 344, [4] pp. of advertisements |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition, first issue, 1910, one of 2,500 copies (Kirkpatrick A4a); collation [4], 344, [4] pp. of advertisements. Bound in red cloth, spine and front cover lettered in gilt, bottom edge uncut. The first issue has only four pages of publisher's advertisements following the text (pp. 345-348), ending with 'A Stepson of the Soil' by Mary J. H. Skrine, with no mention of Howards End itself and no notice of a second impression. In the second issue, from later in 1910, the advertisements extend to eight pages and include a notice of this novel. No jacket points are documented for this title.

## Is this the true first?
Edward Arnold, London, 1910 is the true first. The first American edition is G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1910 — a separate setting collected as the first American but not a true first. The census note's claim that Arnold preceded Putnam 'by weeks' could not be confirmed: dealer listings date the Putnam variously to 1910 and 1911 and none of the sources consulted established the interval, so the precedence direction stands but the margin should not be stated.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The second issue is identified by the expanded eight-page advertisement section including a notice of Howards End itself; later Arnold printings carry impression statements. No contemporaneous book-club edition is documented.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Howards End* by E.M. Forster a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/howards-end
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.