# Is "Home to Harlem" by Claude McKay a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Home to Harlem by Claude McKay (Harper & Brothers, 1928) is identified by: The first edition states 'FIRST EDITION' on the copyright page together with the Harper letter date code 'A-C' (A = January, C = 1928), placing the printing in January 1928. US Harper & Brothers (imprint reads 'New York and London'), January 1928, is the true first — widely cited as the first bestselling novel by a Black American writer.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The first edition states 'FIRST EDITION' on the copyright page together with the Harper letter date code 'A-C' (A = January, C = 1928), placing the printing in January 1928
- It is bound in three-quarter black cloth over patterned/marbled paper boards with decorative endpapers and a violet top-stain; the scarce pictorial dust jacket was designed by Harlem Renaissance artist Aaron Douglas
- Publisher imprint reads Harper & Brothers
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Claude McKay |
| Publisher | Harper & Brothers |
| Year | 1928 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The first edition states 'FIRST EDITION' on the copyright page together with the Harper letter date code 'A-C' (A = January, C = 1928)… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The first edition states 'FIRST EDITION' on the copyright page together with the Harper letter date code 'A-C' (A = January, C = 1928), placing the printing in January 1928. It is bound in three-quarter black cloth over patterned/marbled paper boards with decorative endpapers and a violet top-stain; the scarce pictorial dust jacket was designed by Harlem Renaissance artist Aaron Douglas.

## Is this the true first?
US Harper & Brothers (imprint reads 'New York and London'), January 1928, is the true first — widely cited as the first bestselling novel by a Black American writer. A separately published British trade edition could not be corroborated in this pass, so the census 'UK issue followed' note is left unverified; US Harper precedence is unambiguous regardless.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The date code is the key control: a copyright page lacking the 'A-C' code (bearing a later month/year code) or lacking the 'FIRST EDITION' statement indicates a later printing; the presence of both, with the Aaron Douglas jacket, marks the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Home to Harlem* by Claude McKay a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/home-to-harlem
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.