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First Edition of Zora Neale Hurston's Jonahs Gourd Vine; Finely Bound by the Harcourt Bindery
NEALE HURSTON, ZORA.
Jonah’s Gourd Vine.
Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company 1934.
First edition of the author’s first book. Octavo, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery, gilt titles to the spine, gilt ruled to the front and rear panels, raised bands, inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. In near fine condition, name to the title page. With an introduction by Fanny Hurst. Rare and desirable.
Price: $3,000.00 Item Number: 141711
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"The perfect book" (Alice Walker): Rare first edition of Mules and Men; Finely Bound by the Harcourt Bindery
HURSTON, ZORA NEALE.
Mules and Men.
Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company 1935.
First edition of Hurston’s classic work, “the most engaging, genuine, and skillfully written book in the field of folklore” (Alan Lomax). Octavo, original cloth, with 10 illustrations by Miguel Covarrubias. Octavo, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery, gilt titles to the spine, gilt ruled to the front and rear panels, raised bands, inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. In fine condition. Introduction by Franz Boas. Rare and desirable.
Price: $2,500.00 Item Number: 141719
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"The perfect book" (Alice Walker): Rare first edition of Mules and Men; inscribed by Zora Neale Hurston
HURSTON, ZORA NEALE.
Mules and Men.
Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company 1935.
First edition of Hurston’s classic work, “the most engaging, genuine, and skillfully written book in the field of folklore” (Alan Lomax). Octavo, original cloth, with 10 illustrations by Miguel Covarrubias. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, “To Mrs. Scott One of God’s best angels Zora Neale Hurston Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Dec. 20, 1936.” Introduction by Franz Boas. In very good condition with a large portion of the front panel of the original dust jacket tipped in opposite the title page, a small original photograph of Zora Neal Hurston laid in and her obituary tipped in which notes that she “died in obscurity and poverty on January 28, 1960.” Additional newspaper clippings related to Hurston tipped in at front and rear. Embossed bookplate. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. Rare and desirable. First editions of any of Hurston’s books are rare, presentation copies exceedingly so.
Price: $50,000.00 Item Number: 141573
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First edition of Five Plays by Langston Hughes; lenghtily inscribed by him to Geoffrey Bridson with whom he co-produded the famed bbc series The Negro in America
HUGHES, LANGSTON.
Five Plays.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press 1963.
First edition of this collection of five of Hughes’ best-known plays. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author with a full page inscription on the front free endpaper, “Especially for Geoffrey ~ some of my plays ~ Sincerely ~ Langston Hughes New York April 22, 1964.” The recipient, BBC producer Geoffrey Bridson, co-produced the now famous nineteen-part BBC series The Negro in America which offered a kaleidoscopic portrait of African-Americans’ contribution to twentieth century culture as well as some raw insights into the Civil Rights struggle that was then rapidly gathering momentum. First broadcast in the opening weeks of 1965, one of the most memorable episodes in the series explored the subject of African-American writing with Langston Hughes chairing a discussion between Le Roi Jones (later known as Amiri Baraka) and James Baldwin, who had just published his celebrated collection of essays about race and one of the most influential works on race relations published in the twentieth century: The Fire Next Time. With Bridson’s bookplate to the pastedown. Very good in a very good dust jacket. Jacket design by Ronald Sterkel. Edited and with an Introduction by Webster Smalley. A very nice association.
Price: $1,250.00 Item Number: 139812
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“Every race and every nation should be judged by the best it has been able to produce, not by the worst": James Weldon Johnson' The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man; In the rare original dust jacket
JOHNSON, JAMES WELDON.
The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man.
New York: Garden City Publishing Co 1927.
First edition of this re-issue of the author’s classic work. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in a very good jacket with light rubbing and wear. Rare in the original dust jacket.
Price: $1,850.00 Item Number: 137553
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Rare De Witt Clinton High School Class of 1941 Yearbook; signed by James Baldwin as a graduating senoir
[BALDWIN, JAMES].
James Baldwin Signed De Witt Clinton High School Class of 1941 Yearbook.
Bronx, New York: Published by the Senior Class of De Witt Clinton High School June 1941.
Rare De Witt Clinton High School Class of 1941 Yearbook signed by James Baldwin as a graduating senior. Quarto, original cloth, pictorial endpapers, illustrated with photographs. Signed by James Baldwin to the right of his senior photograph of page 36, “James Baldwin.” His accolades read: JAMES A. BALDWIN “Baldy” Magpie Editorial Boards; Student Court. Novelist-Playwright. ‘Fame is the spur and – ouch!’ Additionally signed by dozens of other graduating seniors. With copies of the Commencement Exercises, List of Awards and Prizes and June 1941 ‘Class-Nite’ program laid in. In very good condition. Exceptionally rare, one of the earliest Baldwin autographs obtainable.
Price: $16,000.00 Item Number: 130241
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First edition of Langston Hughes' Not Without Laughter; inscribed by him to his editor Bernard Smith
HUGHES, LANGSTON.
Not Without Laughter.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf 1930.
First edition of Langston Hughes’ award-winning debut novel. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page in the year of publication to his editor, “For Bernard Smith ~ Sincerely, Langston Hughes July 3, 1930.” The recipient, American literary editor and critic Bernard Smith began working at Alfred A. Knopf in 1928 and eventually rose to editor-in-chief and managing editor. He notably edited the works of B. Traven, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and Langston Hughes, including this, Hughes’ debut novel. In near fine condition. An exceptional association copy, inscribed by Hughes to the man that helped publish this very work. Exceedingly rare with only two inscribed copies of this work traced at auction.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 129438
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"Arguably the central text of the Harlem Renaissance... hailed as an important revision of the slave narrative and a forerunner of black protest fiction": First edition of James Weldon Johnson's An Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man
JOHNSON, JAMES WELDON.
The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man.
Boston: Sherman, French & Company 1912.
First edition of the work the central text of the Harlem Renaissance, hailed as the link between 19th and 20th African American narratives. Octavo, original cloth stamped in gilt. In very good condition. Rare.
Price: $5,000.00 Item Number: 124993
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First Edition of Black and Conservative: The Autobiography of George S. Schuyler; Inscribed by Him
SCHUYLER, GEORGE S.
Black and Conservative: The Autobiography of George S. Schuyler.
New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House Publishers 1966.
First edition of this work by the Harlem renaissance writer. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, “To Richard Beam from George S. Schuyler 2/17/69.” Near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
Price: $600.00 Item Number: 124598