How Harper Lee's 'To Kill A Mockingbird' Cover Art Has Changed Over the Past Six Decades

There will be a sequel to "To Kill a Mockingbird." Publishing company Harper announced Tuesday it will issue Harper Lee's second novel, "Go Set a Watchman." Lee has not published another book since "Mockingbird" appeared on July 11, 1960. The novel following Scout Finch, Atticus Finch and "Boo" Radley in Maycomb, Alabama, has never been out of print in 54 years and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961. To celebrate a new novel from Lee, let's look at some of the art that has graced hardcover and softcover editions of "To Kill a Mockingbird."

First Edition

If you have this edition on your shelf, you should put it in a slipcase or, at the very least, stop using it as a coaster. The first edition of "To Kill a Mockingbird," featuring a cover design by Shirley Smith, was published by J.B. Lippincott & Co. on July 11, 1960. The cover features none of more iconic images associated with "Mockingbird" but does include the tree where gifts were left mysteriously for the Finch children. The jacket includes a quote from Truman Capote and a photo of Lee by the "In Cold Blood" author. Interestingly, Capote's quote has spurred theories that he wrote "Mockingbird."

The Book You Know From School

Chances are if you were assigned to read "To Kill a Mockingbird" in school, you were handed this version of the novel. The mass market paperback was first published by Popular Library in 1962. Popular Library was later sold to Fawcett Publications, which was then purchased by CBS Publications. The two imprints were then sold to Warner Communications and, in 2006, Hachette purchased Time Warner Book Group. Various cover designs have been used for the paperback over the year.

The mass market paperback is now published by Grand Central Publishing.

A Global Phenomenon

"To Kill a Mockingbird" has sold more than 40 million copies around the world, according to the Associated Press. Lee's book has been translated into more than 40 languages. This cover is from an Indonesian edition published by the Mizan Group.