# Is "On a Chinese Screen" by W. Somerset Maugham a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of On a Chinese Screen by W. Somerset Maugham (George H. Doran, 1922) is identified by: True first is the New York George H. US Doran (1922) is the true first, preceding the UK Heinemann edition (1922) by roughly a month; the Heinemann issue derives from the American plates (Toole Stott A29).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is the New York George H. Doran edition of 1922 (about 2000 copies), a collection of China travel sketches
- The English Heinemann edition was printed from stereotype plates made from the American type, with a title-page reset in America, and followed about a month later
- Publisher imprint reads George H. Doran
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | W. Somerset Maugham |
| Publisher | George H. Doran |
| Year | 1922 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first is the New York George H. Doran edition of 1922 (about 2000 copies), a collection of China travel sketches |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
True first is the New York George H. Doran edition of 1922 (about 2000 copies), a collection of China travel sketches. The English Heinemann edition was printed from stereotype plates made from the American type, with a title-page reset in America, and followed about a month later.

## Is this the true first?
US Doran (1922) is the true first, preceding the UK Heinemann edition (1922) by roughly a month; the Heinemann issue derives from the American plates (Toole Stott A29).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *On a Chinese Screen* by W. Somerset Maugham a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/on-a-chinese-screen
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.