The Story of Little Black Sambo.

BANNERMAN, Helen.

Item Number: 5799

New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1900.

First American edition, first issue, with title on boards printed in same shade of blue as Sambo’s pants. Small octavo, original half cloth. In good condition with rubbing wear. Housed in a custom chemise.

“Bannerman wrote this story during a long railway journey to India, after having left two small daughters to be educated in her native Scotland. The author never intended the book for publication, but through the encouragement of her children and friends the manuscript was shown to E.V. Lucas who agreed to publish it… When first published in October 1899, The Story of Little Black Sambo was a revolutionary-style picture book… The format of the book encouraged its handling by young owners, and the pages alternated between text and illustrations in a manner very appealing and appropriate to its compact size… Very few copies of the original printing have survived” (Schiller, 381-6).