Description
First edition, first printing of The Color Purple: A Novel by Alice Walker.
Octavo, [8], 245pp, [3]. Cream hardcover, title in silver on purple cloth spine. Stated “First Edition” on copyright page, with publisher’s full letter line “BCDE” listed. Solid text block, light foxing to top edge, faint toning to spine, near fine. In the publisher’s first state dust jacket, $11.95 retail price on front flap, light shelf wear, some chipping to spine. A near fine example.
Alice Walker (b. 1944) is the first African-American woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for this, her third novel. The Color Purple also received the National Book Award for Fiction. Although controversial and appearing on the American Library Association’s list of Top 100 Most Banned and Challenged Books: 2010-2019, The Color Purple is still seen today as an incredibly influential novel, stretching into other mediums on screen and on stage.
