# Is "The Outermost House: A Year of Life on the Great Beach of Cape Cod" by Henry Beston a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Outermost House: A Year of Life on the Great Beach of Cape Cod by Henry Beston (Doubleday, Doran, 1928) is identified by: First edition in blue cloth, 8vo, with the Doubleday, Doran imprint on the title page. US Doubleday, Doran (Garden City) is the true first, 1928.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition in blue cloth, 8vo, with the Doubleday, Doran imprint on the title page
- Books of this era carried no printed First Edition statement; the true first is identified by the early imprint reading Doubleday, Doran (not the later Doubleday and Company) and by the absence of later printing or reissue notices on the copyright page
- Issued in a pictorial dust jacket
- Publisher imprint reads Doubleday, Doran
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Henry Beston |
| Publisher | Doubleday, Doran |
| Year | 1928 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition in blue cloth, 8vo, with the Doubleday, Doran imprint on the title page |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition in blue cloth, 8vo, with the Doubleday, Doran imprint on the title page. Books of this era carried no printed First Edition statement; the true first is identified by the early imprint reading Doubleday, Doran (not the later Doubleday and Company) and by the absence of later printing or reissue notices on the copyright page. Issued in a pictorial dust jacket.

## Is this the true first?
US Doubleday, Doran (Garden City) is the true first, 1928. Later Rinehart and Holt editions are first thus only.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The title was reprinted many times by several houses. Confirm the Doubleday, Doran imprint and 1928 date, and that the copyright page lacks later-printing statements.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Outermost House: A Year of Life on the Great Beach of Cape Cod* by Henry Beston a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-outermost-house-a-year-of-life-on-the-great-beach-of-cap
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.