# Is "The Education of Henry Adams" by Henry Adams a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams (Houghton Mifflin, 1918) is identified by: First trade edition, Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin (copyright Massachusetts Historical Society), 1918, published posthumously. True first = the 1907 privately printed edition (Washington, roughly 100 copies, distributed to the author's circle).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First trade edition, Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin (copyright Massachusetts Historical Society), 1918, published posthumously
- The first printing is identified by the date in Roman numerals at the foot of the title page; later printings lack that dated title page
- The true first overall is the 1907 privately printed edition of about 100 copies
- Publisher imprint reads Houghton Mifflin
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Henry Adams |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
| Year | 1918 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First trade edition, Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin (copyright Massachusetts Historical Society), 1918, published posthumously |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First trade edition, Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin (copyright Massachusetts Historical Society), 1918, published posthumously. The first printing is identified by the date in Roman numerals at the foot of the title page; later printings lack that dated title page. The true first overall is the 1907 privately printed edition of about 100 copies.

## Is this the true first?
True first = the 1907 privately printed edition (Washington, roughly 100 copies, distributed to the author's circle). The 1918 Houghton Mifflin printing is the first published/trade edition and won the 1919 Pulitzer Prize.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The 1918 trade edition is the collectible 'first' for most buyers; the 1907 private printing is exceedingly rare. Distinguish the two, and within the 1918 issue look for the Roman-numeral date on the title page to confirm the first printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Education of Henry Adams* by Henry Adams a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-education-of-henry-adams
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.