Books

Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1935. First edition of Hurston's classic work, "the most engaging, genuine, and skillfully written book in the field of folklore" (Alan Lomax). Octavo, original cloth, with 10 illustrations by Miguel Covarrubias. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, "To Mrs. Scott One of God's best angels Zora Neale Hurston Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Dec. 20, 1936." Introduction by Franz Boas. In very good condition with a large portion of the front panel of the original dust jacket tipped in opposite the title page, a small original photograph of Zora Neal Hurston laid in and her obituary tipped in which notes that she "died in obscurity and poverty on January 28, 1960." Additional newspaper clippings related to Hurston tipped in at front and rear. Embossed bookplate. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. Rare and desirable. First editions of any of Hurston’s books are rare, presentation…

A collection of African American folktales gathered by Zora Neale Hurston during her ethnographic studies in the Southern United States.