# Is "The House on the Borderland" by William Hope Hodgson a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson (Chapman & Hall, London, 1908) is identified by: First edition: London, Chapman & Hall, 1908, with the long descriptive title continuing 'From the Manuscript, discovered in 1877 by Messrs. UK-only lifetime edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition: London, Chapman & Hall, 1908, with the long descriptive title continuing 'From the Manuscript, discovered in 1877 by Messrs
- Tonnison and Berreggnog, in the Ruins that lie to the South of the Village of Kraighten, in the West of Ireland.' Octavo, pp. xii, [ii], 300, with four pages of publisher's advertisements at the rear as issued; publisher's black cloth with gilt lettering and gilt decoration on the spine
- No issue points are recorded within the 1908 printing
- Publisher imprint reads Chapman & Hall, London
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | William Hope Hodgson |
| Publisher | Chapman & Hall, London |
| Year | 1908 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition: London, Chapman & Hall, 1908, with the long descriptive title continuing 'From the Manuscript, discovered in 1877 by Messrs |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition: London, Chapman & Hall, 1908, with the long descriptive title continuing 'From the Manuscript, discovered in 1877 by Messrs. Tonnison and Berreggnog, in the Ruins that lie to the South of the Village of Kraighten, in the West of Ireland.' Octavo, pp. xii, [ii], 300, with four pages of publisher's advertisements at the rear as issued; publisher's black cloth with gilt lettering and gilt decoration on the spine. No issue points are recorded within the 1908 printing.

## Is this the true first?
UK-only lifetime edition. The first US appearance is the Arkham House omnibus The House on the Borderland and Other Novels (Sauk City, Wisconsin, 1946; 3,014 copies; black cloth, gilt spine; Hannes Bok jacket, Arkham's first four-color jacket; introduction by H. C. Koenig) — itself a cornerstone collectible, but a first-thus trap if offered as a first edition of the novel alone.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Trap: Holden & Hardingham (London) reissued all of Hodgson's novels in cheap editions circa 1920-22; a Holden & Hardingham imprint marks a later issue, not the 1908 first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The House on the Borderland* by William Hope Hodgson a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-house-on-the-borderland
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.