Is My 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 copy…
• Modern titles (roughly 1990s-present): a printer's-key number line IS used; lowest digit indicates the printing, so a line ending in 1 (e.g. '1 2 3 4 5' or '5 4 3 2 1', sometimes with year digits) indicates a first print…

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 — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

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.