SIMMS' BLUE BOOK AND NATIONAL NEGRO BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY by Simms, James N - 1923

[New York, 19 October 1952].. Original borderless gelatin silver print, 25.5 x 17 cm (9 7/8 x 6 3/4 inches). Matted. Fine. A beautiful portrait of the then 25 year old singer, dating from the year of her Broadway appearance in the musical review, NEW FACES. The 1954 film version was her first credited screen role. This print bears Van Vechten's ink studio stamp on the verso. The subject, date and negative number are also written on the verso in ink, in Van Vechten's hand. There are prints of three other negatives from the same session in the Library of Congress Van Vechten photo archive, and two other prints from the session were exhibited in EXTRAVAGANT CROWD CARL VAN VECHTEN'S PORTRAITS OF WOMEN (Yale, Beinecke Library, 2003). KELLNER G701.

Trenton, New Jersey: Printed by David Naar, "True American" Office, 1864. Near Fine condition. Clean and tight. Three tiny chips near the spine. A very attractive copy, remarkably well preserved, especially considering the age (published 1864) and fragility of its thin paper binding. SEE PHOTOS. NO foxing. NO underlining. NO highlighting. NO margin notes. Includes Ricord's report to Joel Parker, Governor of New Jersey, on the condition of the state's public schools. A substantial appendix lists reports by the various town superintendents in each of 21 counties from Atlantic to Warren. Since this report was published while the Civil War was still being fought, the section on "Schools for Colored Children" may be of some interest: "There is no section of the law nor any decision of the courts that deprives colored children of the advantages of public school instruction… it shall be the duty of the trustees of the several school districts to apply the… Read More

This is the landmark three-volume set, each individually signed, by late tennis great Arthur Ashe. From the jacket(s): "A Hard Road to Glory, a three-volume work, is the definitive history of black athletes in this country and a milestone in the presentation of United States social and cultural life.... A major contribution to both black history and American history, A Hard Road to Glory is the saga of African-American athletes, from their seventeenth-century ancestral homelands to the present." All 3 volumes are illustrated with B/W photos, and include a reference section, sources list, and index.
A description of each volume follows:
Volume 1
1619-1918
Book Description: Warner Books, New York, NY, 1988. First printing. Number line 10-2. Book Condition: FINE. Binding is tight and square. No extraneous marks or writing. Dust Jacket Condition: NEAR FINE. Not price clipped ($29.95). No chips or tears. Signed on half-title page: "Peace, Arthur Ashe, For Joe," (The comma at the end of both the 1st… Read More

In Roma Per Gioacchino Salvioni Stampatore Vaticano, Nell' Archiginnasio della Sapienza, 1768. 12mo, 158 x 86 mms., pp. xviii, 775 [776 blank], title-page in red and black with engraved vignette of Christ, text also printed partially in red and black, 14 full-page engraved plates by Alessio Giardoni (fl. 1760 - 1795), at pages 1, 37, 49, 73, 87, 93, 113, 129, 161, 309, 333, 409, 455 and 619, stylishly bound in full contemporary red morocco, gilt border to a floral design on both covers, with a central gilt panel enclosing a cross in black, all edges gilt, marbled end-papers; slightly shaken in casing, very minor wear to binding, but a fine copy with the armorial bookplate of Prince Constantin Radziwill at the Chateau d' Ermenonville on the front paste-down end-paper, and the Ex Libris label of Albert Natural on the front paste-down end-paper. Prince Constantin Radziwill (1850 - 1920) married Louise Antoinette Blanc in 1876, despite his well-established and almost promiscuous homosexuality;… Read More

Danville, Illinois: Freese, Boener & Co. Printers No Date, circa 1910-1920. A blank complimentary notebook rendered unique and charming by a series of anonymous Folk Art pencil drawings, 14 in all, of primarily African-American figures. Some drawings are captioned, and seem to be telling a story- -Where Is the Boy ?, Here I Am, Testing a Melon, The Suspected Man, The Weather Prophet, Brother Gardener Declines, Elder Toots Denies, Hank Was Watching, and Going Over to Sims", the latter 2 featuring men with guns. The notebook reads "Complimenst of Hancock & Briner, dealers in Dry Goods, Gents' Pants, Hats, Caps, Boots, Shoes and General Merchandise. Veedersburg, Ind. Freese, Boener & Co. Printers, Danville, Ill." front cover, and "We present you with this book, and making 'Fair Dealing and Low Prices' our motto, we earnestly solicit a share of your patronage. Call and see us. Hancock & Briner, Veedersburg, Ind.". 3 pages have numbers and figures, one… Read More

Original illustrated wrappers, tall 8vo (7 1/4 x 9 3/4), includes 12 full page illustrations in addition to wrapper illustrations. Notes and musical score on inside covers. Wrappers are chipped, and there are a cople of pieces missing from the top of the back cover, but don't appear to be affecting text. Spine is split but holding, thanks to tape spine; some minor soiling. The song 'Ten Little Niggers' emerged from the minstrel shows in the South shortly after the Civil War.These shows became increasingly racist as time went on. They were known as Jim Crow shows and then became coon shows. While 'Ten Little Niggers' would appear in Children's nursery rhyme books, there real purpose was to present blacks in demeaning ways. Tffany M.B. Anderson: "Ten Little Niggers": The Making of a Black Man's Consciousness.

Pamphlet, 12mo, original printed pale blue wrappers, stapled, 40 pp. Very slight aging; near fine and an exceptional copy. Marcus Garvey (1887-1940) was one of the most influential black leaders of the early 20th century. Unlike other black leaders, Garvey felt for blacks to really gain equality they would be better off going back to Africa. He was a strong champion of black separatism, feeling it was the only way to overcome racism, he even went as far as to propose alliance with white power groups, including the Ku Klux Klan (see An Appeal to the Soul of White America...). He felt the ends of the two groups were actually very similar. In 1914 Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement and Conservation Association and African Communities League, typically referred to as the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). This organization would probably have close to 75,000 members and would be dedicated to black advancement and uplift. Garvey was inspired by the ideas of Booker T. Washington,… Read More

NYC: Wm C. Popper & Co, 1939. 1st Edition 1st Printing. Soft cover. Very Good/No Jacket. A ONE of a KIND Treasure! The 1939 Souvenir Program was printed following Marian Anderson's historic concert at The Lincoln Memorial on April 9, 1939. It is **SIGNED** directly on the Title page by BOTH Miss Anderson and her accompanist, the famed pianist Franz Rupp! It in VG condition with minor wear along the edges. The concert cover is the gold and black version. There are multiple B/W pictures, including the artist with her mother at the foot of the Lincoln Statue and her receiving the NAACP Springarn Medal from First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Her biography, the story of the historic concert and the lyrics of her songs are also included. All in all, a thrilling and very rare historic document of a courageous, deeply spiritual and exceptionally gifted and talented American woman. Note: A page is cut from the program, a reproduction of which is provided with the program. The mystery of the… Read More

1576 Boemus Legles et Ritus Customs of Asia Africa India Persia China AmericaJohann Boemus was an early 16th-century German ethnographer who is chiefly remembered for his work 'Leges et Ritus', originally published in 1520. This work is an account of customs and laws of Africa, Asia, and Europe. This rare book includesa detailed history of Tartary including merchant and trade activityPersian soldiers – training and clothing"the strange ways" of IndiaLands that produce only white menConnections of law and cultureEditions subsequent to the 1542 edition include some of the first written observations of Americans, according to Sabin. This book was also important in that it was considered to have a direct influence on Sebastian Muenster's 'Cosmography'. (Lach, 336)Item number: #5517Price: $950BOEMUS, Johann Mores, leges et ritus omnium gentium, a Joanne Boëmo ... - ex multis clarissimis rerum scriptoribus collectiLugduni: apud Bartholomaeum Vincentium, 1576.Details: Collation: Complete with all pages… Read More

London; New York: Ernest Nister; E.P. Dutton & Co, 1896. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/No jacket as issued. 24mo - over 5 - 5¾" tall. 24mo., (15)pp., illustrated on each page in bright red, green, grey, blue, gilt, etc. chromolithographs. Bound in pebbled cloth backed glossy paper over boards, chromolithographs. The spine's cloth is torn at its crown, with loss. Light to moderate soiling to the covers. Internally clean and bright. A Very Good copy. **** Author's first book. "Booker T. Washington" on the title page. Part of the Gem series. ***.