M. C. Higgins, the Great by Hamilton, Virginia; McMullan, James (Dust Jacket Art) - 1974

New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc, 1974. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/fine. First printing, no Newbery Medal on dust jacket, octavo size, 288 pp. Coming-of-age novels spin stories that resonate with people from all walks of life, and "M. C. Higgins, the Great" is no exception. Virginia Hamilton (1936-2002) masterfully tells the story of three days in the life of Mayo Cornelius Higgins, as he grows up in the Appalachian Mountains in Kentucky; often surreal, the novel explores Higgins' desire for change amidst the traditions and customs of family. The novel won the Newbery Medal in 1975, making Hamilton the first African-American author to win the award.

This volume is the first edition of Hamilton's book, and does not have the Newbery Medal, which would be awarded a year after publication, on the dust jacket. The dust jacket is illustrated by James McMullan (b. 1934), an illustrator of many theatrical posters for the Lincoln Center Theater as well as dust jackets for authors like Jorge Luis Borges and Lawrence Durrell.

___DESCRIPTION: Full brown cloth, facsimile signature of the author in silver on the front board, silver lettering on the spine; octavo size (8.5" by 5.75"), pagination: [i-viii] 1-278 [279-280]. In a pictorial dust jacket with colour illustration of the characters on the frotn panel wrapping around to the spine, white and black lettering on the spine and front panel, reviews of the book on the rear panel, a description of the book on the front flap, and author photograph and bio on the rear flap; the dust jacket is unclipped, with the original price of $6.95 on the front flap.

___CONDITION: A fine copy; the corners straight and unrubbed, the binding tight with solid hinges, the interior clean and bright, and free of prior owner markings; the covers are clean except for some very small spots of soiling, else fine. The dust jacket is fine overall, unclipped, clean with bright colours, with very slight wear to the head and tail of the spine and to the corners.

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