The sweet flypaper of life. by DeCarava, Roy; and Langston Hughes - 1955

New York: Simon and Schuster, 1955. First edition stated. Very Good. 18 cm; 98 pages. This copy SIGNED by Hughes and by DeCarava. In photo-pictorial wrappers, lightly worn, with sunburned fore-edge extending about 15mm onto wrappers. References: Roth 138; Parr/Badger I 242; Hasselblad 160; Auer 357.

A unique fusion of the verbal and the visual, The Sweet Flypaper of Life combines 142 photographs of black family life in Harlem (by Roy DeCarava) with a fictional narrative inspired by the photos by Langston Hughes. It is considered the first monograph by a Black author collaborating with a Black photographer. Simon and Schuster published the volume simultaneously in cloth (about 300 copies) and paper (about 22,000 copies), which quickly sold out and became rare.

In 1952, with Edward Steichen's support, DeCarava became the first African American photographer to win a Guggenheim fellowship. The one-year grant enabled DeCarava to focus full-time on photography and to complete the project that would eventually result in The Sweet Flypaper of Life. The book is widely considered a classic of photographic visual literature.

This copy boldly signed "Sincerely, Langston Hughes" in green ink, followed by DeCarava's autograph in black ink.