The saying goes “never judge a book by its cover” but here at /s/TheDustJacket that’s exactly what we are going to do.
This sub is about book covers, the dust jacket. The stories and people behind the designs and the iconic covers that have captured our attention and got us to pick up a book and read.
Check the comments! I’ll post the picture of the book cover and include background information in the comment area.
To Kill a Mockingbird was published by J.B. Lippincott Co. of Philadelphia in 1960 and became an almost immediate bestseller, winning the 1961 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Because Harper Lee had never published a book before, the publisher had only an estimated first printing run of 5,000 copies, many of which went to public libraries, where they put the usual library marks on them. Due to the fact that it was such a sensational hit, it was also well read, which means that finding a pristine first edition dust jacket of this book is extremely rare. This iconic cover of a tree in autumn designed by Shirley Smith was printed on a type of photographic paper, which unfortunately shows every nick and crease and often is found quite sun-faded to the spine, where it often gets the most light if it is sitting on someone’s shelf.
Edit~ backcover
the book cover that’s in high rotation now