Original Edition 1910 — Was modified from Baden-Powell, line drawing of a Scout holding a US flag on a staff (taken from Baden-Powells Scouting for Boys, with the original British flag replaced with a US flag). This edition was written hastily by Ernest Thompson Seton. When Seton wrote it he incorporated part of Baden-Powells handbook and his own principles of the Woodcraft Indians.

First Edition 1911 - The Scout in front of a campsite waving his campaign hat, was intended to to beckon to the reader.

Third Edition 1927 - This cover featured the profile of a Scout in campaign hat and red neckerchief against a blue background containing the profiles of American heroes (Lincoln, Washington, Ben Franklin, Teddy Roosevelt, a frontiersman, an Indian, and Charles Lindbergh, who had just completed his famous flight). Lindbergh replaced a conquistador between the initial sketching and final painting.

Fourth Edition 1940 - "The Scouting Trail," featuring a Cub Scout, Boy Scout with pack (and red neckerchief), and Sea Scout against a green background. This cover was painted by Norman Rockwell. He originally painted it for the Boy Scout Calendar in 1939.

Fifth Edition 1948 - The first two printings of this edition features a painting of a patrol of Scouts hiking down a wooded trail, wearing campaign hats and red neckerchiefs. This painting is considered flat and lacks the detail and depth of other Handbook covers.

Fifth Edition 1949 - The remaining ten printings displayed two Scouts (red neckerchiefs) and an Explorer, all in overseas caps, sitting around a campfire with the smoke forming an Indian behind them. (The cover picture was changed because of the BSA's switch from campaign hats to overseas caps. Similar changes were made to the cover and inside illustrations of the Handbook for Scoutmasters. This occurred even though the campaign hat remained optional. The change may also have been motivated in part by complaints about the first cover.)

Sixth Edition 1959 - The Scout is wearing leggings because during the 1950s and 1960s, the BSA promoted leggings through their artwork, though these were seldom worn by Scouts outside of the handbooks and catalogs. An interesting error, never detected in seven printings, is the Scout's belt—which is backwards. Due to lack of time, Rockwell painted only the figure itself, someone else filled in the background scene of Scouts hiking and in camp. This is the only Rockwell painting specifically done as a Handbook cover.

Seventh Edition 1965 - The background is a camp scene very similar to that of the 6th Edition.

Eighth Edition 1972 - The first three printings had a two-tone green cover just like the Scoutmaster Handbook, Patrol and Troop Leadership book, Leadership Corps book, Troop Committee Guidebook, and other manuals of this era. The Scout Handbook has a color sketch in the upper right corner of four Scouts in blue neckerchiefs and red berets looking through a telescope at the moon. This was the first and only Scout Handbook not to have a complete cover picture. The artist is unknown.

Eighth Edition 1976 - This picture also appears inside the 9th Edition. The painting on the cover was done by Joseph Csatari painting,called "All Out for Scouting."

Ninth Edition 1979 - The scene on the cover depicts a scene at Schiff Scout Reservation (former BSA National Training Center in New Jersey). The 9th Edition will probably be the last Handbook to have a Norman Rockwell cover, because Rockwell painted his last Scout picture before the BSA redesigned the Scout uniform in 1981.

Tenth Edition 1990 - This edition had a glossy cover with three color action photographs. The photographs were to get scouts excited about some of the adventures scouts has to offer.

Eleventh Edition 1998 - This is the newest edition. This edition was intended to bring scouting into the 21st century.