# Is "Cuba Libre" by MacKinlay Kantor a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Cuba Libre by MacKinlay Kantor (Coward-McCann, 1940) is identified by: First printing in publisher's cloth with the Coward-McCann imprint on the title page and no later-printing statement on the copyright page. US first edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing in publisher's cloth with the Coward-McCann imprint on the title page and no later-printing statement on the copyright page
- A short novel of turn-of-the-century Cuba, illustrated by Ruth Lepper
- Publisher imprint reads Coward-McCann
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | MacKinlay Kantor |
| Publisher | Coward-McCann |
| Year | 1940 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing in publisher's cloth with the Coward-McCann imprint on the title page and no later-printing statement on the copyright page |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First printing in publisher's cloth with the Coward-McCann imprint on the title page and no later-printing statement on the copyright page. A short novel of turn-of-the-century Cuba, illustrated by Ruth Lepper.

## Is this the true first?
US first edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later reprints exist; only the 1940 Coward-McCann printing is the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Cuba Libre* by MacKinlay Kantor a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/cuba-libre
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.