Woman Finds Signed First Edition of 'The Handmaid's Tale' at Yard Sale

A woman has purchased a signed first edition of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale at a yard sale for just $1.

Ashley, who is from Winnipeg, Canada, was out shopping on May 28 when she stumbled on a copy of the book that turned out to be worth a lot more than anyone expected.

An Incredible Find

Ashley told Newsweek: "I heard about the show The Handmaid's Tale, and many friends and family members told me it was really good. I learned it was based on a book and was told that reading the book before the show makes for a much more interesting viewing. I always meant to buy the book and read it. When I was at the sale and saw the book I thought it was a great opportunity to finally buy it."

Ashley admits that she almost didn't buy the book after seeing the "kind of unsettling" cover art, but for just a dollar, she decided to get the book.

She says she noticed a name written on the inside page but it wasn't until later when taking a closer look that she realized it was the name of author Margaret Atwood. "I Googled examples of her autograph and after comparing the one in the book to many images, it appeared to match," explained Ashley.

After a little more research, Ashley found out that The Handmaid's Tale was initially published in 1985, and the inner page of the book also said it was printed in 1985.

"That's when I started thinking 'oh my gosh, did I find a first edition?!' I then did more research on first edition copies of this book, and mine has the same ISBN number as the official first edition of the book," said Ashley. "That's when I realized I had found something special—a first edition of The Handmaid's Tale signed by Margaret Atwood. I was very excited and was afraid to drop it or have it near any food or drink."

On June 1, Ashley took the book to be formally checked by antiquarian Aimee Peake at Bison Books in Winnipeg. Peake confirmed the book to be a signed first edition, and a formal written appraisal for the book is now being organized.

In simple terms, a first edition book is the first commercially distributed version of a book. First edition books can be an incredibly valuable find. In 2006, a rare complete copy of the First Folio, which includes 36 William Shakespeare plays including The Tempest and Romeo and Juliet, sold for $5.2 million at auction. In 2019, one of just 500 first edition copies of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone sold for almost $100,000 at an auction house in London.

"'The Handmaid's Tale' isn't fiction"

Ashley shared her amazing find on Reddit where it has since received more than 52,000 upvotes and hundreds of comments.

"I wanted to share it with the internet. I'm happy that so many people thought this was a neat thing to find at a yard sale for only a buck. I've never had so many notifications before either! I have an Apple Watch and the constant notifications/buzzing of the watch drained the battery really fast," she said.

One Reddit user wrote: "Oh wow, lucky find! If you wanna make a buck; Put it in a vault and auction it when a new season airs," before another commenter said: "Or wait till all the print copies are burnt."

"A lot of comments mentioned that this book is very relevant because of what's happening in the U.S.," said Ashley. "Being from Canada, I've heard a little about Roe v. Wade and many comments said that The Handmaid's Tale isn't fiction, but a documentary of what's happening in the U.S. right now regarding women's reproductive rights."

Roe v. Wade was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which it was ruled that the U.S. Constitution protects a pregnant woman's liberty to choose to have an abortion without government restriction. Currently under threat of being overturned, in May, author Margaret Atwood compared the fall of Roe v. Wade to the Salem witch trials, saying that the U.S. would establish a "state religion" if the ruling is scrapped.

$1,500 price tag

After having the book appraised by the bookstore, Ashley was told that in it's current state, the book was likely worth around $1,500—meaning an impressive return on an investment of $1,499 for the lucky yard sale goer.

"I am going to keep it for now," said Ashley. "I learned the proper way to store it is simply on a bookshelf standing upright in any room that won't expose it to sunlight or humidity, and not to seal it in a plastic container."

Protecting the incredible find and keeping it safe is top of her list, but Ashley still hasn't managed to read the book.

"I still want to read The Handmaid's Tale," she said. "But I think I'm going to look for another copy that isn't quite as valuable as this one."