Is My Copy of The Handmaid's Tale a First Edition?

The points of issue

• McClelland & Stewart (Toronto) 1985 is the true first, preceding the US Houghton Mifflin 1986 and UK Jonathan Cape 1986
• ISBN 0-7710-0813-9, printed and bound in Canada by T.H. Best Printing Company
• Issued in publisher's two-toned boards (commonly described as beige cloth-effect with a maroon spine and light spine lettering; dealer descriptions of the boards vary somewhat) with a pictorial dust jacket
• The key first-issue jacket point is the descriptive blurb likening the book to 'A Clockwork Orange, as seen by women,' set in a near-future locale resembling Cambridge, Massachusetts; a first-state jacket carries its original printed price on the flap

How McClelland & Stewart marked a first edition

• PRIMARY (era-dependent): M&S has no single universal first-printing convention; method depends on the period. For earlier/mid-century Canadian firsts, identify by the ABSENCE of any later-printing/number line on the…
• Corroborate with the printer's imprint / colophon for early-20th-century titles (e.g. L.M. Montgomery M&S firsts of the 1920s show printer names like Warwick Bros. & Rutter, with Hunter-Rose on later printings).

Full McClelland & Stewart first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
3. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
5. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

McClelland & Stewart Toronto 1985 is the true first; Houghton Mifflin Boston 1986 is the first US; Jonathan Cape London 1986 is the first UK. The 1985 Canadian issue has clear precedence and won the 1985 Governor General's Award for English-language fiction.P-020608

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

US and UK editions are dated 1986 with different imprints; later printings are shown by number line. The Canadian first is markedly scarcer.P-020609

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Handmaid's Tale a first edition?

A first edition of The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (McClelland & Stewart) is identified by: McClelland & Stewart (Toronto) 1985 is the true first, preceding the US Houghton Mifflin 1986 and UK Jonathan Cape 1986.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. McClelland & Stewart Toronto 1985 is the true first; Houghton Mifflin Boston 1986 is the first US; Jonathan Cape London 1986 is the first UK.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

US and UK editions are dated 1986 with different imprints; later printings are shown by number line. The Canadian first is markedly scarcer.

I have a first edition of The Handmaid's Tale — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.