# Is "The Compass Rose" by Ursula K. Le Guin a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Compass Rose by Ursula K. Le Guin (Underwood-Miller, 1982) is identified by: True first is the Underwood-Miller (Pendragon Press) edition: a clothbound issue limited to 550 numbered copies signed by Le Guin, with a bound-in limitation page and Thomas Canty artwork, issued mid-1982 (ISBN 0-934438-60-9). The Underwood-Miller signed/numbered limited edition preceded the Harper & Row trade edition by roughly a month, so the limited issue is the true first; the Harper & Row trade is the first trade edition, not the overall first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is the Underwood-Miller (Pendragon Press) edition: a clothbound issue limited to 550 numbered copies signed by Le Guin, with a bound-in limitation page and Thomas Canty artwork, issued mid-1982 (ISBN 0-934438-60-9)
- The Harper & Row trade hardcover, with a number line ending in 1 on the copyright page in a priced jacket, followed in July 1982
- A collection of twenty short stories
- Publisher imprint reads Underwood-Miller
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ursula K. Le Guin |
| Publisher | Underwood-Miller |
| Year | 1982 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first is the Underwood-Miller (Pendragon Press) edition: a clothbound issue limited to 550 numbered copies signed by Le Guin, with a… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
True first is the Underwood-Miller (Pendragon Press) edition: a clothbound issue limited to 550 numbered copies signed by Le Guin, with a bound-in limitation page and Thomas Canty artwork, issued mid-1982 (ISBN 0-934438-60-9). The Harper & Row trade hardcover, with a number line ending in 1 on the copyright page in a priced jacket, followed in July 1982. A collection of twenty short stories.

## Is this the true first?
The Underwood-Miller signed/numbered limited edition preceded the Harper & Row trade edition by roughly a month, so the limited issue is the true first; the Harper & Row trade is the first trade edition, not the overall first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book club editions of the trade text lack the number line and the printed jacket price.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Compass Rose* by Ursula K. Le Guin a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-compass-rose
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.