# Is "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1970) is identified by: Morrison's first novel. The US Holt, Rinehart and Winston edition is the true first (1970); it precedes the UK Chatto and Windus edition (1979).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Morrison's first novel
- The first printing is identified by the words First Edition stated on the copyright page, with no later-printing notation
- The binding is blue quarter cloth, the spine lettered in silver, over grey paper-covered sides
- The dust jacket reproduces the opening paragraphs of the first chapter on the front panel
- The first printing was small, making it markedly scarcer in jacket than Beloved
- Publisher imprint reads Holt, Rinehart and Winston
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Toni Morrison |
| Publisher | Holt, Rinehart and Winston |
| Year | 1970 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Morrison's first novel |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Morrison's first novel. The first printing is identified by the words First Edition stated on the copyright page, with no later-printing notation. The binding is blue quarter cloth, the spine lettered in silver, over grey paper-covered sides. The dust jacket reproduces the opening paragraphs of the first chapter on the front panel. The first printing was small, making it markedly scarcer in jacket than Beloved.

## Is this the true first?
The US Holt, Rinehart and Winston edition is the true first (1970); it precedes the UK Chatto and Windus edition (1979). It is the cornerstone scarce Morrison first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Identify the first by the stated First Edition on the copyright page; later printings carry a printing notation instead. Beware the 1979 UK first being mistaken for the world first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Bluest Eye* by Toni Morrison a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-bluest-eye
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.