# Is "The Rise of Silas Lapham" by William Dean Howells a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Rise of Silas Lapham by William Dean Howells (Ticknor & Co., 1885) is identified by: First edition in book form, Ticknor & Co., Boston, 1885 (after serialization in The Century Magazine). US true first, 1885, Ticknor & Co., Boston.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition in book form, Ticknor & Co., Boston, 1885 (after serialization in The Century Magazine)
- First-printing points: 'Mr
- Howells's Latest Works' listed on the verso of the half-title leaf, and only the 'e' of 'sojourner' battered in the last line of page 176
- Original gilt-stamped cloth
- Publisher imprint reads Ticknor & Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | William Dean Howells |
| Publisher | Ticknor & Co. |
| Year | 1885 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition in book form, Ticknor & Co., Boston, 1885 (after serialization in The Century Magazine) |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition in book form, Ticknor & Co., Boston, 1885 (after serialization in The Century Magazine). First-printing points: 'Mr. Howells's Latest Works' listed on the verso of the half-title leaf, and only the 'e' of 'sojourner' battered in the last line of page 176. Original gilt-stamped cloth.

## Is this the true first?
US true first, 1885, Ticknor & Co., Boston. A near-contemporaneous English edition (David Douglas, Edinburgh, two volumes, 1885) exists, but the Boston Ticknor is the recognized first and standard first edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Houghton, Mifflin and reprint editions postdate; the genuine first has the 1885 Ticknor & Co. imprint, the half-title-verso 'Latest Works' listing, and the battered 'e' in 'sojourner' on page 176.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Rise of Silas Lapham* by William Dean Howells a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-rise-of-silas-lapham
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.