Invisible Man by Ellison, Ralph - 1952

[New York], 17 February 1953.. Original borderless gelatin silver print, 23.5 x 18 cm (9.25 x 7.25 inches). Fine. A fine portrait of the young singer, then in the ascendance of her career, less than a year after her role as St. Settlement in the Broadway revival of Gertrude Stein's FOUR SAINTS IN THREE ACTS. This print bears Van Vechten's blindstamp, and on the verso his ink studio stamp. The subject, date and negative number are also written on the verso in ink, in Van Vechten's hand. There is a print of another negative from the same sitting, albeit dated in the catalogue entry a week earlier - an impossibility as it is separated from this photograph by only one other exposure and the set and dress are identical - in the LC Van Vechten photo archive. KELLNER G434.

Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1830. Disbound, only parts of spine remaining from original 3/4 leather with red and black spine labels, original string ties(complete). 293 pgs, with light scattered foxing and toning. "The committee to whom were referred the memorial of the African Society for colonizing the free people of color of the United States; also, sundry memorials from the inhabitants of the State of Kentucky, and a memorial from certain free people of color of the State of Ohio, report:". SCARCE. A fascinating document. . First Edition. Disbound. Good/No Jacket, As Issued. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.

Kinsale, [Ireland]: printed at the 50th Regimental Press, 1877. Bifolium program (8.5 x 13 cm), pp. [4], the last blank; minor foxing, previous fold, formerly from an album, the remains of a card and an engraved illustration on the final blank. Also, a manuscript caption: "Programme, Garrison Nigger Troupe, Camden Fort, Feb. 9 1877." With manuscript notes and corrections in a contemporary hand. The Negro Troupe was led by Lieutenant Yaldwyn. Provenance: Major-General Sir Francis Walter de Winton (1835-1901.

First edition. Inscribed by the author to her sister, the dedicatee of the book. No closer association imaginable. Very good in dust jacket with some rubbing to the top edge. A bit of sunning/toning to top edges of the boards. An important Afro-American writer who was a significant contributor to the Harlem artistic community in the 50's/60's.

Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1971. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine/very good +. Oblong small quarto, 208pp., illustrated. A crisp, clean copy, near fine, with some foxing to the edges. In the scarce dust jacket, very good or better, with a dampstain at the base. A wonderful visual and textual document of rural Black musicians in the American south. Mitchell, an accomplished photographer, conducted interviews with all of the musicians, and adapted these into prose narratives. Mitchell has spent most of his career in Atlanta, and he published a volume of photographs of various figures and establishments on Ponce de Leon Avenue in his 1983 book "Ponce de Leon." His first book, the one offered here, is rare in dust jacket.

New York: Random House, 1975 First printing of the stated first edition. Signed and inscribed by Maya Angelou directly on the title page: "Lois Langland, / Joy! Maya Angelou / Nov 19, 1980 / (I hope we can be / together, again.)" Lois Langland taught (professor emeritus in psychology) at Scripps Women's College. Toning/offsetting to endpapers, else book in fine condition; dust jacket with faint toning to spine and cover margins, else fine.

[Washington, DC: Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, 1924].. 7,[1]pp. Octavo. Printed self wrapper. A couple of small rust marks to rear wrapper, otherwise fine. First separate printing of this address by the poet activist, given by Johnson at the VI International Summer School of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Chicago May 1924. In large part, Johnson's comments are made in reference to the causes and consequences of the US occupation of Haiti following the assassination of the Haitian President in July of 1915. OCLC: 26035710.

London & New York: Abelard-Schuman, 1958. From the library of Ralph Ellison -- author of INVISIBLE MAN, perhaps the 20th century's most critically acclaimed African-American novel. Books from Ellison's library are rare in the market -- almost unobtainable. Fine condition in a Very Good dust jacket. White part of the dust jacket's rear panel is mildly tanned at the edge. See photos. NOT price clipped ($3.50). A square, tight copy. Sharp corners. NO owner's name or bookplate, but with a letter to Ellison from the publisher laid-in (see photos). The letter is dated April 18th, 1958 and is addressed to him at 730 Riverside Drive, New York City (his home, directly across from what is now the Ralph Ellison Memorial in Harlem). The letter reads in part: "Dear Mr. Ellison: At the personal request of Adriaan van der Veen, I am pleased to be sending you an advance copy of THE INTRUDER, to be published September 10th. We are proud to be issuing the English translation of this… Read More

LECTURES on the Philosophy and Practice of Slavery As Exhibited in the Institution of Domestic Slavery In the United States with the Duties of Masters to Slaves.
William A Smith DD, President of Randolph-Macon College And Professor Of Moral and Intellectual Philosophy
Edited by Thomas O Summers, DD Stevenson and Evans 1856, Nashville, Tenn Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by WILLIAM A. SMITH, In the Office of the Clerk of the District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BY A. A. STITT, SOUTHERN METHODIST PUBLISHING HOUSE, NASHVILLE, TENN.This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.
The book consists of thirteen lectures on the subject of slavery as was given to students of Moral Science in Randolph Macon College. The author presents lectures on the various components of slavery. His main reason for agreeing with the institution is that is "a fundamental… Read More

[Civil War]. [Reconstruction]. [North Carolina]."The triumphant North demanded three things of the defeated South: acknowledgment of the emancipation of its slaves; contract freedom for all citizens, black and white; and national reunification. Emancipation, freedom, and reunification were still just words. Their meanings remained unfixed. The image of the new country would emerge only as the lines connecting these ideological dots were drawn. As former North Carolina governor David L. Swain recognized, 'With reference to emancipation, we are at the beginning of the War.'" [Richard White. "The Republic For Which It Stands."]OFFICE OF THE PROVOST MARSHALL, NORTH CAROLINA. [Confederate Amnesty Oath supporting the United States Constitution]. Raleigh, North Carolina: Office of the Provost Marshal, 1865. Unbound. Single leaf. Unused form slip, printed in black on white stock. Measuring approximately 8.3 by 6.3 inches. Light age toning. Remnant stationary at verso top edge, likely from old scrapbook… Read More