Lost Horizon, cover of another edition (the Macmillan 1933 cover is not yet photographed)

Cover of another edition of this book. The Macmillan 1933 jacket has not been photographed yet.

First edition Hardback

Lost Horizon (1933)

James Hilton · Macmillan, London

Publisher Macmillan Year 1933

Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 20 Oct 2026.

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Market value

What decides the price

  • It is the first edition, which is the one collectors want.
  • The original dust jacket carries much of the price for a book of this age; its condition matters as much as the book's.
  • Condition is graded separately for book and jacket, from Fine down to Poor.
Recorded sales
2

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Price history

2 recorded sales

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In short

Quick answer

Who published the Lost Horizon first edition?
Macmillan, London, in 1933, in hardback.
Identification

How to identify this edition

Lost Horizon was first published in London by Macmillan in 1933, so the Macmillan 1933 book is the true first. It is an octavo in green cloth, issued in a pictorial dust jacket. The book was reprinted repeatedly within a year (a fifth printing is dated 1934), so the date on the title page and its verso matters: a copy showing any later printing is not the first. A jacketed first is the valuable book; a copy in green cloth with a pictorial jacket sold at Christie's New York in September 2021 for USD 6,875.

Publisher's practice

How Macmillan marked its first editions

  • This guide covers only the American firm, The Macmillan Company of New York (later Macmillan Publishing Co.); the British Macmillan has its own practice.
  • Before mid 1936 there is no "First printing" line. For a first printing, the year on the title page should match the latest year on the copyright page.
  • From mid 1936 a first printing carries a printing statement on the copyright page. A further line beneath it, such as a second printing or revised edition note, means the copy is not a first.
  • A number row was added later: two guides place it in the 1970s and one after 1979. The "1" must be present for a first printing.
  • Book club copies (a general tell for US trade houses; no mark specific to this house was found): a jacket flap with no printed price is the commonest sign, though a printed price does not on its own rule out a club copy. Also look for a small blind stamp, such as a dot or square, pressed into the rear board, and for a book that is smaller and more cheaply made than the trade edition.

Read the full guide to Macmillan first editions, decade by decade, and check your copy's copyright page against it. Our number line decoder reads the printing from the row of numbers.

Printing by printing

Printings and states

First impression

1933

At a glance

Not yet researched

We have not yet confirmed the issue points that tell this first impression from later ones. Until we do, compare your copy's title page and copyright page with the publisher, place and year above: any later printing or edition statement means it is not this one.

Know the points? Tell us. We publish them, with credit, once a second source agrees.

Notes

The cover image shows this book but may not be this edition or printing.

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Questions collectors ask

Frequently asked questions

Who published the Lost Horizon first edition?

Macmillan, London, in 1933, in hardback.

Sources

Where these facts come from

Points of issue are listed only where at least two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 20 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.

Related

More first editions by James Hilton

Good-bye, Mr. ChipsHodder & Stoughton, 1934Random HarvestMacmillan, 1941
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