harlem renaissance

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  • THEY SEEK A CITY. by Bontemps, Arna and Conroy, Jack.
    Bontemps, Arna and Conroy, Jack.
    THEY SEEK A CITY.

    Edition: First printing.

    Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Doran & Co., Inc., 1945. dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - The story of African American migration within the United States, from the Underground Railroad in pre-civil war days, to the years following the Emancipation when newly freed slaves headed north and west, and during World War I when there was a labor shortage in the factories of the North and continuing up until the time this book was written. SIGNED on the front endpaper by both authors and inscribed by Conroy ' For my friend Gloria Freidman with the best of wishes" and dated 10/12/45 and underneath this appears 'and also those of' and the signature of Bontemps. References, index. 266 pp.

    Condition: Very good+ in a fair only copy of the uncommon dustjacket (loss of approx 1 inch at upper corner of dj at fold, some loss of paper ranging from 1/4 inch to 1 inch at top of spine, and affecting the 'y' in 'they', rubbing, general edgewear) . An inexpensively produced book due to wartime restrictions, and uncommon in dj and especially so signed by both authors.

    Book ID: 20096
    View cart More details Price: $375.00
  • NO EASY PLACE TO BE. by Corbin, Steven.
    Corbin, Steven.
    NO EASY PLACE TO BE.

    Edition: First printing.

    New York: Simon & Schuster, (1989) dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - The author's first novel, set in Harlem in the 1920s, during the period known as the Harlem Renaissance. "He captures the fervor of post-World War I black optimism, contrasted by rampant racial bigotry, while chronicling the lives of three sisters: Velma, Barnard graduate and aspiring writer; Miriam, indefatigable activist for back-to-Africa nationalist Marcus Garvey; and Louise, whose fair skin leads her to the Cotton Club and show business." (Publisher's Weekly) Warmly and personally INSCRIBED on the front endpaper and dated 12 March 89, in the year of publication. 447 pp. ISBN: 0-671658840.

    Condition: Very good in near fine dust jacket (some dampstaining to top edge of textblock, ink inscription slightly smeared)

    Book ID: 86962
    View cart More details Price: $40.00
  • COUNTEE CULLEN: Twayne's United States Authors Series, TUSAS 470. by [Cullen, Countee 1903-1946] Shucard, Alan R.
    [Cullen, Countee 1903-1946] Shucard, Alan R.
    COUNTEE CULLEN: Twayne's United States Authors Series, TUSAS 470.

    Edition: First printing.

    Boston: Twayne Publishers, (1984). Hardcover first edition - A book which looks at Cullen's role in the Harlem Renaissance and at his work as a novelist and playwright, in addition to focusing on his poetry. Frontispiece portrait. Chronology. Notes and references, index. 145 pp. ISBN: 0-805774114.

    Condition: Fine in black cloth with gilt lettering on spine (as new)

    Book ID: 90162
    View cart More details Price: $25.00
  • THE CHINABERRY TREE. by Fauset, Jessie [Redmon].
    Fauset, Jessie [Redmon].
    THE CHINABERRY TREE.

    Edition: First printing.

    New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1931. dj. Hardcover first edition - The third novel by this important Harlem Renaissance writer, considered the first 'modern' African American woman novelist, editor of 'The Crisis.' Introduction by Zona Gale and a foreword by Jessie Fauset in which she comments that this the story of dark Americans who wear their joy and rue very much as the white American. Set in a small town in New Jersey, the chinaberry tree of the title is a symbol of a welcoming and sheltering home, but underneath are issues of racial identity, adultery and incest. In a 1932 interview she is quoted as saying "Here is an audience waiting to hear the
    truth about…

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    New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1931. dj. Hardcover first edition - The third novel by this important Harlem Renaissance writer, considered the first 'modern' African American woman novelist, editor of 'The Crisis.' Introduction by Zona Gale and a foreword by Jessie Fauset in which she comments that this the story of dark Americans who wear their joy and rue very much as the white American. Set in a small town in New Jersey, the chinaberry tree of the title is a symbol of a welcoming and sheltering home, but underneath are issues of racial identity, adultery and incest. In a 1932 interview she is quoted as saying "Here is an audience waiting to hear the
    truth about us. Let us who are better qualified to present that truth than any white writer, try to do so." Later in her career, Fauset was dismissed as too conservative, part of the 'old guard' but this underestimates her crucial role in the Harlem Renaissance: Langston Hughes called her one of the "three people who midwifed the so-called New Negro Literature into being." Based on the number of printings, and the fact that it had a UK edition. this novel was apparently her most popular. First editions have become vary scarce, and copies in an original dust jacket are rare in the trade now, even somewhat flawed dust jackets like this one. 341 pp.

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    Condition: Good condition - minor wear to the cloth covers, fading to the spine covering where part of the dustjacket is missing - but overall a straight and tight copy in a worn dust separated along the side of the spine, missing approximately 3 inches on the lower spine, chipping to the edges and to the front fold. Original price of $2.00 still present.

    Book ID: 89266
    View cart More details Price: $15,000.00
  • CLAUDE MCKAY: The Black Poet at War: Broadside Critics Series 2. by Gayle, Addison Jr.
    Gayle, Addison Jr.
    CLAUDE MCKAY: The Black Poet at War: Broadside Critics Series 2.

    Edition: First printing.

    Detroit: Broadside Press, (1972). First edition - An interesting look at the pivotal role of McKay as a Black poet who moved away from the earlier tradition of poems written in dialect or influenced by Western classical literature. In his introduction, Gayle notes that not only did the Jamaican-born McKay bring a "race spirit and a race soul" but he also brought a "sensitivity sharpened by experiences of other lands and peoples" as well as a sense of immediacy and urgency. A title in the Broadside Critics Series. Footnotes, bibliography. 46 pp. ISBN: 0-910296766.

    Condition: Near fine in stapled printed orange wrappers (some toning to both covers and pages)

    Book ID: 89581
    View cart More details Price: $85.00
  • BLACK ON BLACK: Twentieth-Century African American Writing about Africa. by Gruesser, John Cullen.
    Gruesser, John Cullen.
    BLACK ON BLACK: Twentieth-Century African American Writing about Africa.

    Edition: First printing.

    Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, (2000) dj. Hardcover first edition - A book described as "the first comprehensive analysis of the modern African American literary response to Africa, from W.E.B. Du Bois's The Souls of Black Folk to Alice Walker's The Color Purple. Combining cutting-edge theory, extensive historical and archival research, and close readings of individual texts, Gruesser reveals the diversity of the African American response to Countee Cullen's question, 'What is Africa to Me?'" Extensive notes, works cited, index. xiii, 205 pp. ISBN: 0-813121639.

    Condition: Very near fine in a like dustjacket (appears unread)

    Book ID: 79195
    View cart More details Price: $25.00
  • STILL LIFE IN HARLEM by Harris, Eddy L.
    Harris, Eddy L.
    STILL LIFE IN HARLEM

    Edition: First printing.

    New York: Henry Holt, 1996. dj. Hardcover first edition - Author's fourth book - a revisiting of the Harlem during several eras: in its early days as a pastoral suburb; during the Harlem Renaissance of the 20's, and in its decline into a symbol of urban despair. Small octavo. 276 pp. ISBN: 0-8050-4851-0.

    Condition: Fine in a fine dustjacket.

    Book ID: 17033
    View cart More details Price: $15.00
  • "Slave on the Block: A Story." in SCRIBNER'S MAGAZINE, VOL. XCIV, NO. 3, SEPTEMBER 1933. by Hughes, Langston.
    Hughes, Langston.
    "Slave on the Block: A Story." in SCRIBNER'S MAGAZINE, VOL. XCIV, NO. 3, SEPTEMBER 1933.

    Edition: First printing.

    New York: Scribner, 1933. First edition - In addition to the timely Langston Hughes story, about a white couple - an artist and musician - who consider themselves lovers of anything 'Negro,' this includes an article by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings on floating down the St Johns River in Florida with only another woman as a companion. Also includes substantial articles on Hitler and the American Jews and on the inventor Thomas Edison, as well as other stories and poetry. pp 129-192 plus ads and features.

    Condition: Good condition overall - front cover is beginning to tear along the spine, light vertical crease, other wear.

    Book ID: 91366
    View cart More details Price: $45.00
  • MONTAGE OF A DREAM DEFERRED. by Hughes, Langston.
    Hughes, Langston.
    MONTAGE OF A DREAM DEFERRED.

    Edition: First printing.

    New York: Henry Holt, (1951.) dj. Hardcover first edition - A late and uncommon collection of poetry by Hughes - a portrait of the community of Harlem in transition after the war. Dedicated to Ralph and Fanny Ellison. An interesting association copy "To my dear friend Kathy by way of my mother Alice C. Browning. I know you will cherish this as I cherish all of her books." and dated in 1985, the year Browning died. Browning was an active member of the Chicago Black Renaissance, who, among other things, founded and published the 1940s magazine "Negro Story" which included contributions by Langston Hughes. 75 pp.

    Condition: Very good in a poor dust jacket with extensive tape repairs to tears and along the folds, chips in upper corner of front cover and to bottom edge of back cover.

    Book ID: 55993
    View cart More details Price: $250.00
  • SIMPLE SPEAKS HIS MIND. by Hughes, Langston.
    Hughes, Langston.
    SIMPLE SPEAKS HIS MIND.

    Edition: First printing, a trade paperback, issued simultaneously with hardcover.

    New York: Simon & Schuster, (1950.) dj. First edition - The first of the 'Simple' books which began as a series of columns in the Chicago Defender during World War II, columns which were,according to Hughes, based on actual conversations Hughes heard or overheard, the ordinary working man of Harlem discussing everything from World War II to love, usually in terms of race -and with the humor embodied in the blues line 'I'm laughing to keep from crying.' This is the Simon and Schuster's Readers Edition, which they describe as an experiment in publishing - it is a new book, issued at just $1 because it has thinner paper, a soft cover binding and a large printing, although they…

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    New York: Simon & Schuster, (1950.) dj. First edition - The first of the 'Simple' books which began as a series of columns in the Chicago Defender during World War II, columns which were,according to Hughes, based on actual conversations Hughes heard or overheard, the ordinary working man of Harlem discussing everything from World War II to love, usually in terms of race -and with the humor embodied in the blues line 'I'm laughing to keep from crying.' This is the Simon and Schuster's Readers Edition, which they describe as an experiment in publishing - it is a new book, issued at just $1 because it has thinner paper, a soft cover binding and a large printing, although they note that the hardcover is available at $3.00. 231 pp. plus 1 pp about the author.

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    Condition: Very good overall - the usual toning to the pages, some minor wear to the covers.

    Book ID: 87970
    View cart More details Price: $50.00
  • MOSES MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN. by Hurston, Zora Neale.
    Hurston, Zora Neale.
    MOSES MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN.

    Edition: First printing.

    Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1939. dj. Hardcover first edition - Hurston's novel of Moses from an African-American folklore point of view - as the great 'Voodoo Man' of the Bible. In the first issue binding, finely woven reddish-brown cloth stamped in orange on the front boards and spine.

    Condition: Very good in a good only dust jacket (dampstaining to back cover of the dj, and affecting the rear board and spine of the book very slightly, chip missing at top of spine of dj, gift inscription dated in 1942. Despite these flaws, this is a straight and attractive copy of Hurston's rather hard to find last novel and the illustration on the front cover of the dj is striking. )

    Book ID: 24618
    View cart More details Price: $1,000.00
  • THE COMPLETE STORIES. by Hurston, Zora Neale.
    Hurston, Zora Neale.
    THE COMPLETE STORIES.

    Edition: First printing.

    New York: Harper Collins, (1995) dj. Hardcover first edition - Includes all of her published short stories, listed chronologically by the date of their first appearance and seven not previously published stories. Introduction by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Sieglinde Lemke and an afterword by Gates. Bibliography. 305 pp. ISBN: 0-060167327.

    Condition: Very near fine in fine dust jacket (slightly over-opened before title page)

    Book ID: 79786
    View cart More details Price: $30.00
  • ZORA NEALE HURSTON. by [Hurston, Zora Neale] Witcover, Paul.
    [Hurston, Zora Neale] Witcover, Paul.
    ZORA NEALE HURSTON.

    Edition: Trade paperback.

    New York: Chelsea House Publishers, (1991). A biography of this important Harlem Renaissance author, written for younger readers and illustrated throughout with photographs. Introductory essay by Coretta Scott King. A title in the Black Americans of Achievement series, edited by Nathan Irvin Huggins. List of books by Hurston, a chronology, suggestions for further reading and index. Slightly oversized square format. 120 pp. ISBN: 0-791011542.

    Condition: Fine in glossy illustrated wrappers.

    Book ID: 71783
    View cart More details Price: $13.50
  • Johnson, James Weldon.
    SAINT PETER RELATES AN INCIDENT: Selected Poems.

    Edition: First printing.

    New York: Viking, 1935. dj. Hardcover first edition - The title poem of this collection was originally privately published in an edition of only 200 copies, and was written in reaction to the news that the when the US was sending a contigent of gold star mothers to Europe to visit the graves of their sons, that the Negro mothers would not be allowed to sail on the same ship as the white gold-star mothers. Also includes poems from his first book of poetry and some which had not previously been published in book form.

    Condition: Very good in red cloth with spine label (pencil phrase on rear endpaper, erasable, no dj.)

    Book ID: 14119
    View cart More details Price: $65.00
  • Johnson, Mat, text. Art by Warren Pleece.
    INCOGNEGRO: A Graphic Mystery.

    Edition: First printing.

    New York: Vertigo / DC Comics, (2009) dj. Hardcover first edition - Inspired by accounts of Walter White "passing" in the South to obtain first hand information of lynching, this is a graphic novel of a "black journalist who goes undercover in the 1930s South to investigate a possible trumped-up murder charge against his brother - a charge that could lead to a lynching. Zane Pinchback, who is so light-skinned he can pass for white, writes the Incognegro column for a Harlem newspaper, and his beat is the bloody circus of lynchings still claiming lives in horrendous numbers. Johnson's tale is a smart and fast-paced one, particularly when dealing with Pinchback's reluctance to return to Mississippi." Black and white drawings by Warren Pleece. 135 pp. ISBN: 978-1401210984.

    Condition: Fine in a fine dust jacket (as new.)

    Book ID: 91930
    View cart More details Price: $30.00
  • HOME TO HARLEM. by McKay, Claude.
    McKay, Claude.
    HOME TO HARLEM.

    Edition: First paperback printing.

    New York: Pocket Books, (1968). First edition - Pocket Cardinal Edition 50184. A vintage paperback edition of McKay's best known work, originally published in 1928. 180 pp plus 2 pp publisher's ads.

    Condition: Just about fine in illustrated wrappers - appears unread.

    Book ID: 88763
    View cart More details Price: $31.50
  • TRAGEDIES OF LIFE / GEORGE SAMPSON BRITE / CASE 999 - A CHRISTMAS STORY. by Pitts, Gertrude / Scott, Anne. (introduction by Marilyn Sanders Mobley.)
    Pitts, Gertrude / Scott, Anne. (introduction by Marilyn Sanders Mobley.)
    TRAGEDIES OF LIFE / GEORGE SAMPSON BRITE / CASE 999 - A CHRISTMAS STORY.

    Edition: First printing.

    New York: G. K. Hall, 1997. dj. Hardcover first edition - A title in the African-American Women Writers 1910-1940 series. While very little information is available on the two authors in this volume, both Pitt and Scott were born in 1900, and both of these novels were written when the authors were in their late 30's, towards the end of the Harlem Renaissance, and towards the end of the Depression. Both novels were published in 1939, and the short story 'Case 999' was published in 1952. In addition to the introduction by Mobley, this volume includes reproductions of the original publications of these works,. ISBN: 0-8161-16342.

    Condition: Fine in fine dust jacket (as new.)

    Book ID: 17039
    View cart More details Price: $21.50
  • LOOKING INTO THE HURT by Scott, Nathaniel
    Scott, Nathaniel
    LOOKING INTO THE HURT

    Edition: First printing.

    Sacramento, CA: Act Three, 1988. First edition - Poetry chapbook by this African American author: the theme is the Harlem Renaissance, both as a tribute to the writers of that period, and a study of the contrasts made by the passage of 60 years. Cover design by D. Woodard.

    Condition: Near fine in stapled glossy wrappers.

    Book ID: 9040
    View cart More details Price: $10.00
  • BORN TO BE. by Taylor, Gordon (1893-1971) Covarrubias, illustrator; Carl Van Vechten, foreword.
    Taylor, Gordon (1893-1971) Covarrubias, illustrator; Carl Van Vechten, foreword.
    BORN TO BE.

    Edition: First printing.

    New York: Covici Friede, 1929. dj. Hardcover first edition - An eloquent book in which this African-American singer, one of the foremost spiritual / blues singers of his day, recounts his childhood in the 'sporting world' in Sulfur Springs, Montana (where his family was the only black family), his experiences as a Pullman porter, working as a driver for John Ringling, being in New York during the years now called the 'Harlem Renaissance' and traveling to Europe to sing. Written at the peak of his singing career, where he partnered with Rosalind Johnson (sister of James Weldon Johnson), this ends with his comments on "what a lucky bird I am to have been laid on the top of the…

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    New York: Covici Friede, 1929. dj. Hardcover first edition - An eloquent book in which this African-American singer, one of the foremost spiritual / blues singers of his day, recounts his childhood in the 'sporting world' in Sulfur Springs, Montana (where his family was the only black family), his experiences as a Pullman porter, working as a driver for John Ringling, being in New York during the years now called the 'Harlem Renaissance' and traveling to Europe to sing. Written at the peak of his singing career, where he partnered with Rosalind Johnson (sister of James Weldon Johnson), this ends with his comments on "what a lucky bird I am to have been laid on the top of the Rocky Mountains" and long after the events in this book, he returned to Silver Springs for the remainder of his life. Illustrated with a color frontispiece and 9 black and white plates by Covarrubias, an introduction by Muriel Draper, who talks about editing the original handwritten manuscript, and a foreword by Carl Van Vechten. An important book of the Harlem Renaissance era which is scarce in the first edition and rare in dust jacket. Glossary. 235 pp.

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    Condition: Very good in brown cloth with orange lettering - slight spine slant, some wear to the top of the spine - in a good example of the Covarrubias illustrated dust jacket, with shallow chipping to the edges, sunning to the spine, but complete.

    Book ID: 90916
    View cart More details Price: $1,500.00
  • TROPIC DEATH. by Walrond, Eric.
    Walrond, Eric.
    TROPIC DEATH.

    Edition: 2nd printing (just one month after the first)

    New York: Boni & Liveright, 1926. Hardcover - Ten powerful short stories of Afro-Caribbean life, set in the West Indies, Panama, and the Central American isthmus. An uncommon book (in any original edition) by this Harlem Renaissance writer who was born in Guyana. Although DuBois praised this book for its significance - "Here is a book of ten stories of death, which, with impressionistic pen and little plot, show forth with singular vividness the life of black laborers of the West Indies. There is superstition, unusual dialect, singular economic glimpses; but above all, there is truth and human sympathy" he also called it "hard reading." 282 pp.

    Condition: Fair condition only in dark brown cloth with gold lettering, black and gold illustrated endpapers (front hinge starting, several leaves were carelessly cut open, scattered foxing mostly in margins and some rubbing and shelfwear to the boards - but still a very readable copy of an important book .)

    Book ID: 87966
    View cart More details Price: $125.00
  • TROPIC DEATH. by Walrond, Eric.
    Walrond, Eric.
    TROPIC DEATH.

    Edition: First printing.

    New York: Boni & Liveright, 1926. Hardcover first edition - Ten powerful short stories of Afro-Caribbean life, set in the West Indies, Panama, and the Central American isthmus. An uncommon book by this Harlem Renaissance writer who was born in Guyana. 282 pp.

    Condition: Very good overall condition in black cloth with gold lettering, black and gold illustrated endpapers (tide marks to bottom margin of the pages, visible but not obtrusive and otherwise in better than average condition )

    Book ID: 89727
    View cart More details Price: $350.00
  • THE RICHER, THE POORER: Stories, Sketches and Reminiscences by West, Dorothy.
    West, Dorothy.
    THE RICHER, THE POORER: Stories, Sketches and Reminiscences

    Edition: First printing.

    New York: Doubleday, 1995. dj. Hardcover first edition - A collection of stories (including her first short story "The Typewriter" which took second prize in a writing contest when she was only 17) and autobiographical essays, selected and introduced by the author - the last living writer from the days of the Harlem Renaissance. Preface by Mary Helen Washington. 254 pp. ISBN: 0-385-471459.

    Condition: Near fine in near fine dust jacket.

    Book ID: 43978
    View cart More details Price: $19.50
  • LIVING IS EASY. by West, Dorothy
    West, Dorothy
    LIVING IS EASY.

    Edition: Trade paperback.

    New York: Griot Editions / Quality Paperback Book Club, (1996). West's first novel originally published in 1948. Although she was born in Boston, and lived most of her life on Martha's Vineyard, she worked in New York City during the Depression and is associated with the Harlem Renaissance, both through her association with Langston Hughes and other figures of the movement, as well as editing the significant but short-lived quarterly literary journals - Challenge in 1934 and The New Challenge in 1937. 347 pp.

    Condition: Near fine in illustrated wrappers with self-flaps.

    Book ID: 91367
    View cart More details Price: $12.00