The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man by Johnson, James Weldon - 1912

London: Arthur Barker Ltd, 1935. First British Edition. Very Good+/Good. First British edition. Signed by author on front free endpaper, inscribed to former owner and dated August 1944. [vi], 233 pp. Original buckram cloth lettered in red. Very Good+ with light stain to fore edge, slight curving to boards, in Good dust jacket with some light dampstaining, spine panel darkened, chipped along edges. An existential examination of America via the marathon dance craze of the Great Depression, which inspired a 1969 film directed by Sydney Pollack.

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1926. First Edition. Fine/Fine. First edition, first printing with no damage to type on pages 38, 90 and 248; in a first state dust jacket with lips unbattered. Bound in publisher's green cloth with titles in blind on the upper board, and stamped in gilt on the spine. Fine, almost appearing as new, with bright and sharp gilt lettering. Faint wear at corners and bumping to bottom corner of lower board, creating a tiny, corresponding chip to the dust jacket. A breathtaking copy, one would be hard-pressed to find one nicer.

New York: William Morrow and Company, 1968. First Edition. Near Fine/Near Fine. First edition, first printing. Signed by author as Richard Hooker on the title page with quote marks around his name; Richard Hooker is the pseudonym of Dr. Hiester Richard Hornberger Jr. Near Fine, with light edge wear, toning to spine ends, small evidence of tape removal to recto of half-title page, hinge at title page over-opened. In a Near Fine unclipped dust jacket, with light shelf wear and toning. A laid-in note in a former owner's hand reads, "Dr. Hornberger autographed this book as "Richard Hooker" while still employed as a doctor at Thayer Hospital in Waterville, Maine." Signed copies are scarce.

New York: Robert O. Ballou, 1933. First Edition. Near Fine/Near Fine. First edition, first issue. Signed by Mahlon Blaine, whose illustrations appear on the the dust jacket, endsheets and title page. Bound in publisher's green cloth with spine lettered in gilt. Near Fine. Cloth lightly sunned through jacket at spine, and along top and bottom edges. Pages toned. In a Near Fine unclipped dust jacket with light wear at the spine ends, and a short closed tear along the top edge of the front panel with some faint associated creasing. A lovely copy, signed by the illustrator. In the early '20s, Blaine met a young John Steinbeck on the Panama Canal, and the two quickly became friends. Blaine would go on illustrate the dust jacket and endsheets for Steinbeck's first novel, Cup of Gold, as well as for this title. Goldstone & Payne, A3a.

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1943. First Edition. Very Good/Very Good. First edition stated, first printing. Bound in publisher's green cloth with title label to spine. Very Good+ with fading to spine, light softening to spine ends, pages toned. In a Very Good first issue dust jacket with a blank verso and publisher's original price of $2.75 intact; Rubbing and wear mainly at extremities, light chipping at spine ends. A nice example of the wartime production.

London: Arthur Barker Ltd, 1935. First British Edition. Very Good+/Good. First British edition. Signed by author on front free endpaper, inscribed to former owner and dated August 1944. [vi], 233 pp. Original buckram cloth lettered in red. Very Good+ with light stain to fore edge, slight curving to boards, in Good dust jacket with some light dampstaining, spine panel darkened, chipped along edges. An existential examination of America via the marathon dance craze of the Great Depression, which inspired a 1969 film directed by Sydney Pollack.

New York: The Viking Press, 1938. First Edition. First edition. 303 pp. Original cloth. Small dampstain to top of back board, else Near Fine in Very Good unclipped dust jacket with tears along folds at top of front panel, edge-rubbing, small closed tear to bottom of back panel, spine slightly darkened, a few pieces of tape to verso, dampstain to verso of back panel. A collection of twelve stories by the chronicler of the rough-and-tumble American West.

New York: William Morrow and Company, 1968. First Edition. Near Fine/Near Fine. First edition, first printing. Signed by author as Richard Hooker on the title page with quote marks around his name; Richard Hooker is the pseudonym of Dr. Hiester Richard Hornberger Jr. Near Fine, with light edge wear, toning to spine ends, small evidence of tape removal to recto of half-title page, hinge at title page over-opened. In a Near Fine unclipped dust jacket, with light shelf wear and toning. A laid-in note in a former owner's hand reads, "Dr. Hornberger autographed this book as "Richard Hooker" while still employed as a doctor at Thayer Hospital in Waterville, Maine." Signed copies are scarce.

New York: Robert O. Ballou, 1933. First Edition. Near Fine/Near Fine. First edition, first issue. Signed by Mahlon Blaine, whose illustrations appear on the the dust jacket, endsheets and title page. Bound in publisher's green cloth with spine lettered in gilt. Near Fine. Cloth lightly sunned through jacket at spine, and along top and bottom edges. Pages toned. In a Near Fine unclipped dust jacket with light wear at the spine ends, and a short closed tear along the top edge of the front panel with some faint associated creasing. A lovely copy, signed by the illustrator. In the early '20s, Blaine met a young John Steinbeck on the Panama Canal, and the two quickly became friends. Blaine would go on illustrate the dust jacket and endsheets for Steinbeck's first novel, Cup of Gold, as well as for this title. Goldstone & Payne, A3a.

New York: The Macmillan Company, 1936. First Edition. Very Good. First edition. [iv], 570 pp. Original tan cloth with blue lettering. Very Good, lacking the dust jacket. Spine cloth foxed, edges slightly foxed as well; corners lightly bumped. A very straight, study copy. The author's first book, of which only 3,000 were printed.