E.M. Forster First Editions

• Where Angels Fear to Tread — 1905 · William Blackwood & SonsFirst edition, October 1905, 1,050 copies (Kirkpatrick A1a); collation [iv], 319, [1] pp. followed by a 32-page publisher's catalogue. Bound in publisher's slate-blue coarse cloth, lettered in gilt on the spine and blocked in black on the upper cover, with maroon endpapers. The first issue is identified entirely by the state of the 32-page Blackwood catalogue bound at the rear: it is dated 5/05 at page 32,…. The Blackwood edition (Edinburgh and London, 1905) is the true first of Forster's first novel, and the census claim is confirmed. There was no American edition for roughly fifteen years: the first American is Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1920 (orange cloth stamped in black, 2,630 copies per Kirkpatrick), which is collected as the first American edition but is not a true first and should not be catalogued as one. A second impression followed in January 1906 in a run of 526 copies; the 10/05 catalogue state marks later Blackwood issues. No contemporaneous book-club edition is documented. Later Knopf and collected-edition printings are 'first thus' at best.
• The Longest Journey — 1907 · William Blackwood & SonsFirst edition, first impression, William Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh and London, 1907, in an edition of approximately 1,587 copies; octavo. Bound in dark green cloth, stamped in gilt on the spine and the upper cover. Cited as Kirkpatrick A2a and Connolly, The Modern Movement, 19; the first impression is identified by the 1907 title-page imprint with no later-printing statement. UK true first: William Blackwood & Sons (Edinburgh/London), 1907, Forster's scarce second novel. There was no contemporary American edition; the first American edition did not appear until Alfred A. Knopf (New York), 1922 — a later first American, not a precedence rival to the 1907 Blackwood.
• A Room with a View — 1908 · Edward ArnoldFirst edition, first printing, 1908, one of 2,000 copies (Kirkpatrick A3a); 324 pp. followed by an 8-page publisher's catalogue at the rear. Bound in publisher's original ribbed maroon (burgundy) cloth. The first printing carries no impression statement on the title page — this is the operative point, since the second impression, published the following year, states 'Second Impression' on the title page and…. Edward Arnold, London, 1908 is the true first, and the census claim is confirmed. The first American edition is G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1911 — a separate later setting of roughly 364 pp. with publisher's advertisements at the end; it is collected as the first American edition but is not the true first. The second impression is self-identifying: 'Second Impression' on the title page plus a 12-page advertisement catalogue. No contemporaneous book-club edition is documented; later Arnold printings carry impression statements.
• Howards End — 1910 · Edward ArnoldFirst edition, first issue, 1910, one of 2,500 copies (Kirkpatrick A4a); collation [4], 344, [4] pp. of advertisements. Bound in red cloth, spine and front cover lettered in gilt, bottom edge uncut. The first issue has only four pages of publisher's advertisements following the text (pp. 345-348), ending with 'A Stepson of the Soil' by Mary J. H. Skrine, with no mention of Howards End itself and no notice of a…. Edward Arnold, London, 1910 is the true first. The first American edition is G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1910 — a separate setting collected as the first American but not a true first. The census note's claim that Arnold preceded Putnam 'by weeks' could not be confirmed: dealer listings date the Putnam variously to 1910 and 1911 and none of the sources consulted established the interval, so the precedence…. The second issue is identified by the expanded eight-page advertisement section including a notice of Howards End itself; later Arnold printings carry impression statements. No contemporaneous book-club edition is documented.
• A Passage to India — 1924 · Edward ArnoldEdward Arnold & Co., London, 1924 (published 6 June 1924) is the true first edition, trade printing of 5,000 copies; Kirkpatrick A10. First-impression points: title page dated 1924, NO mention of later printings on the verso, and 3 pages of publisher's ads at rear. BINDING: the first issue is in publisher's RED cloth (dark red/maroon) with black stamping — NOT blue. The "blue cloth" claim is wrong and in fact…. Edward Arnold London 1924 is the true first; Harcourt, Brace New York 1924 is the first US. The UK first impression precedes the US. Later impressions noted on verso; US edition distinguished by imprint. Book club and reprint editions lack the first-issue binding and jacket.
• Maurice — 1971 · Edward ArnoldFirst edition, Edward Arnold, London, 1971 (posthumous; Forster died 1970); xi, [1], 240 pp. Bound in black cloth with the spine lettered in gilt and a red top-edge stain, and issued in a black dust jacket with the priced jacket present at the flap (unclipped). Cited as Kirkpatrick A39; the red top-stain distinguishes the English issue from the first American, which has a yellow top-edge stain. Posthumous first. The English edition, Edward Arnold (London), 1971, is conventionally taken as the true first; the first American edition, W.W. Norton (New York), 1971, followed and is near-simultaneous. Both are collected, and cataloguers differ on the Kirkpatrick sub-letter (A39a vs A39b), but the London Arnold issue holds precedence by convention. The first American (W.W. Norton, New York, 1971) is distinguished by a yellow top-edge stain and full black cloth, and its jacket flap corner was clipped by the publisher as issued; later Norton printings and paperback issues postdate the 1971 firsts. No priority book-club edition is documented.

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