Their Eyes Were Watching God

Object Details

Date
1937
Written by
Zora Neale Hurston, American, 1891 - 1960
Published by
J. B. Lippincott & Co., American, 1836 - 1978
Description
A signed, first edition hardcover book with dust jacket and a clear, protective plastic cover. The book takes place in early twentieth century Florida. The book recounts the life story of the protagonist, Janie Crawford, a young woman born during the Reconstructionist Era. The dust jacket is gold with central, black and white illustration featuring a male God-like figure in against a stormy sky. The figure is throwing down gold-colored lightening and thunderbolts to the flooded land below. In the lower left corner of the image is a small grouping of trees blowing in the storm. Along the bottom of the illustration, roofs of structures can be seen just above the water. The image is bordered in black. Above and below the illustration on the front cover is text in black. At the top [THEIR EYES/WERE WATCHING GOD/A NOVEL]. Along the bottom [ZORA N· HURSTON]. The black text along the top of the white, back cover of the dust jacket reads: [Some Reviews / OF ZORA NEALE HURSTON’S PREVIOUS BOOK / “Mules and Men”], followed by five book review blurbs. The book has an orange cloth binding. The exterior spine is embossed with black text across the top and bottom of the spine. The text at the top of the spine reads [Their eyes / were / watching / God] above a black circle with a black dot in the center and [Hurston]. The name of the publishers [Lippincott] is embossed in black lettering across the bottom of the spine. The title of the book has been embossed on the front of the book in black lettering [Their eyes were / watching God / Zora Neale Hurston] just below seven black circles with black dots in the circles centers. The inside front cover is inscribed with red ink by the author [To/Miss Ruby Mc Knight/Using stars like stair-/steps -/Zora Neale Hurston]. The book is twenty chapters and two hundred and eighty-six pages long.
Place printed
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America
Place made
Eau Gallie, Brevard County, Florida, United States, North and Central America
Place depicted
Eatonville, Orange County, Florida, United States, North and Central America
Florida, United States, The Everglades, North and Central America
Topic
African American
American South
Language
Literature
Rural life
Segregation
Women
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification
Documents and Published Materials-Published Works
Movement
Harlem Renaissance (New Negro Movement)
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Data Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2014.315ab
Type
hardcover books
Restrictions & Rights
Unknown - Restrictions Possible
Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Medium
ink on paper with cloth, cardboard, metallic paper and acetate film
Dimensions
H x W x D (Closed): 8 1/4 × 5 5/8 × 1 1/2 in. (21 × 14.3 × 3.8 cm)
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd52bc7f66a-781a-4234-997b-ff836efdf860
Record ID
nmaahc_2014.315ab