# Is "Mules and Men" by Zora Neale Hurston a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Mules and Men by Zora Neale Hurston (J. B. Lippincott Company, 1935) is identified by: The Lippincott first (1935) contains Franz Boas's preface and Miguel Covarrubias's illustrations — a frontispiece, title-page vignette, and further plates — together with musical scores; it is bound in brown/rust cloth. US J.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The Lippincott first
- contains Franz Boas's preface and Miguel Covarrubias's illustrations — a frontispiece, title-page vignette, and further plates — together with musical scores; it is bound in brown/rust cloth
- Per Lippincott practice the first carries no later-printing or 'impression' notation on the copyright page, and the fragile pictorial dust jacket is notably scarce (a first-printing jacket measures roughly 8 9/16″ tall)
- Publisher imprint reads J. B. Lippincott Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Zora Neale Hurston |
| Publisher | J. B. Lippincott Company |
| Year | 1935 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The Lippincott first |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The Lippincott first (1935) contains Franz Boas's preface and Miguel Covarrubias's illustrations — a frontispiece, title-page vignette, and further plates — together with musical scores; it is bound in brown/rust cloth. Per Lippincott practice the first carries no later-printing or 'impression' notation on the copyright page, and the fragile pictorial dust jacket is notably scarce (a first-printing jacket measures roughly 8 9/16″ tall).

## Is this the true first?
US J. B. Lippincott (Philadelphia), 1935, is the true first. The first UK edition was Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. (London), 1936, in burgundy cloth with a gilt spine and a Covarrubias jacket; both are collected, but the Lippincott 1935 has clear precedence.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Referenced as Blockson 852; Jordan 323.13. A copyright page noting a later impression, or the 1936 London Kegan Paul imprint, is not the 1935 first; modern facsimile dust jackets exist and should not be taken for the original.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Mules and Men* by Zora Neale Hurston a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/mules-and-men
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.