# Is "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry (Random House, 1959) is identified by: First printing in publisher's tan half-cloth with paper-covered boards bearing a mounted photograph of Sidney Poitier; [xii], 142 pp. US Random House 1959 is the true first (the first Broadway play by a Black woman), preceding the UK Methuen edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing in publisher's tan half-cloth with paper-covered boards bearing a mounted photograph of Sidney Poitier; [xii], 142 pp
- The true first printing has no 'B 987' code on the copyright page; the second printing is identified by the presence of 'B 987'
- Publisher imprint reads Random House
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Lorraine Hansberry |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Year | 1959 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing in publisher's tan half-cloth with paper-covered boards bearing a mounted photograph of Sidney Poitier; [xii], 142 pp |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First printing in publisher's tan half-cloth with paper-covered boards bearing a mounted photograph of Sidney Poitier; [xii], 142 pp. The true first printing has no 'B 987' code on the copyright page; the second printing is identified by the presence of 'B 987'.

## Is this the true first?
US Random House 1959 is the true first (the first Broadway play by a Black woman), preceding the UK Methuen edition. The first printing is genuinely scarce; verify the absence of the 'B 987' second-printing code on the copyright page.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The second printing carries 'B 987' on the copyright page. The collecting target is the trade first printing, which lacks the B-code; the photographic boards are integral to the copy.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Raisin in the Sun* by Lorraine Hansberry a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-raisin-in-the-sun
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.