# Is "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Color Purple by Alice Walker (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1982) is identified by: The first edition, first printing carries the HBJ printing-code letter string 'B C D E' on the copyright page (the 'A' being absent). US Harcourt Brace Jovanovich is the true first; the UK Women's Press edition (1983) is later.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The first edition, first printing carries the HBJ printing-code letter string 'B C D E' on the copyright page (the 'A' being absent)
- It is bound in publisher's boards over purple cloth spine lettered in silver
- The first-issue dust jacket should retain its printed price on the front flap, shows only a single publisher address on the rear flap (later printings add a San Diego address), and has its rear panel headed 'You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down' with no mention of the Pulitzer Prize anywhere on the jacket
- Pulitzer Prize winner
- Publisher imprint reads Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Alice Walker |
| Publisher | Harcourt Brace Jovanovich |
| Year | 1982 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The first edition, first printing carries the HBJ printing-code letter string 'B C D E' on the copyright page (the 'A' being absent) |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The first edition, first printing carries the HBJ printing-code letter string 'B C D E' on the copyright page (the 'A' being absent). It is bound in publisher's boards over purple cloth spine lettered in silver. The first-issue dust jacket should retain its printed price on the front flap, shows only a single publisher address on the rear flap (later printings add a San Diego address), and has its rear panel headed 'You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down' with no mention of the Pulitzer Prize anywhere on the jacket. Pulitzer Prize winner.

## Is this the true first?
US Harcourt Brace Jovanovich is the true first; the UK Women's Press edition (1983) is later. The 'B C D E' letter code, single-address rear flap, and absence of any Pulitzer mention on the jacket are the points.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The book-club edition lacks the 'B C D E' code, bears a blind-stamp on the rear board, uses bulkier paper, and carries a jacket with no printed price.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Color Purple* by Alice Walker a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-color-purple
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.