Search Results: Titles starting with A from Cleveland Book Company

Cleveland, Ohio: Self-published, 1860. First Edition. Self-wrappers. Near fine. 32mo, 14pp., illustrated with vignette on the last leaf. A near fine copy with a faint dampstain at one corner. Never bound or cut, this is a single folded sheet. Inked number of 1420 on the front wrap. Uncommon little pamphlet which gives several recipes apart from those noted in the title, including a rat exterminator, cement, and others. OCLC notes copies at LCP, Smith, U of Iowa, and we note another at AAS. Nice little pre-Civil War Cleveland imprint.

[no place given]: Folcroft Library Editions, 1973. Reprint. Hardcover. Very good. Octavo, 350pp. A very good copy in what looks to be the publisher's red buckram. Gentle shelfwear at the extremities, else a firm, clean copy. Appears to be a facsimile reprint of the 1955 edition, even including the limitation statement (which does not apply to this particular copy). A sturdy reading copy.

New York: Norman W. Henley Publishing Company, 1918. First Edition. Hardcover. Good +. Octavo, 274pp., illustrated, plus advertisements. A good or better copy in the publisher's green cloth, soiled along the spine, but otherwise clean and crisp internally.

Memphis, TN: Ivey, Owen & Co, 1942. Staplebound. Very good. 16mo, [20pp.]. A very good copy in the publisher's stapled printed wraps. The whole booklet is shaped like a can of snuff, which is the advertised product. In very good condition, with some staple rust, a few mild stains to the wraps, and one blank leaf seemingly ripped out, with a little remnant. First four leaves corner creased, else sound. There is a calendar for the years 1942 and 1943 on the interior of the front wrap. Most of the contents consist of blank ruled paper, although there is advertising language for "Dental Scotch Snuff" ("one of the great joys of life," "used by rich and poor alike," etc.). There are also some assorted jokes, many of which have nothing to do with snuff, and some of which are notably racist. Uncommon piece of mid-century American tobaciana.

[New York]: [The New York Tribune], 1889. String-bound. Very good. Small square octavo, [4]pp. String-bound covers, with embossed stylized title and applied illustration of an adolescent girl in a bucolic setting. Contents detached from binding and laid-in, else overall very good. A scarce, ephemeral advertising document, aimed at a specific audience. The New York Tribune is soliciting summer resorts in the Hudson Valley, the Catskills, and surrounding areas to py for advertising space in the newspaper. They claim, "The New York Tribune reaches a larger number of prosperous people who are able and willing to pay good prices for Summer Board, than any other Journal in America." Cost is advertised at $3.00 per line for 30 insertions, either every day, or four times a week. Several specimens are provided, and the Tribune also advertises subscription costs for the resorts (who should be keeping the paper in stock!) at the rear. Not separately listed in OCLC; a great ephemeral piece of New York printing history. Read More

(New York): (Cosmopolitan Magazine), 1929. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good +. 16mo, 20pp., illustrated. A crisp, clean copy, very good or better, with gentle foxing to the first and last leaves, and gentely age-toned on the edges. The first ten pages of this volume (the first half, essentially) consist of the edited interview with the Prince of Wales, who within the decade would be crowned King of England, but soon abdicated in order to marry his American bride, Wallis Simpson. The second half of the volume is aimed at a different audience, namely potential advertisers for Cosmopolitan magazine. A lengthy alphabetical list of current advertisers in the magazine, followed by a series of brief abstracts of recent articles with notable bylines are meant to entice would-be advertisers to buy space in the magazine. This little volume is unrecorded in OCLC, and difficult to trace in commerce. A great piece of early 20th century print culture relating to the magazine business--at the time, among the… Read More

[no place]: [ESSO / Standard Oil Company], 1940. Staplebound. Fair-good. Octavo, 32pp., illustrated. A fair to good copy in the publisher's stapled wraps. Page block, while intact, is separated from the wrappers, and laid in. Some stains, juvenile pencil writing, and chips and short tears to extremities, but a complete, readable copy. A volume of recipes purportedly by "Aunt Julia" (an "Aunt Jemima"-style stereotype of a Black female cook), this volume was almost certainly written or compiled by white staff of the Standard Oil Company. A ehite box on the front wrap contains the details of Wisenhunt's Esso Station in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Likely, these kinds of cook books were sold at various Esso stations throughout the American south and elsewhere. Though probably produced in large numbers, we located just a handful of separately listed holdings in OCLC. Though undated, there are a few advertising images of automobiles whhich were cetainly produced before World War II. Uncommon.

[Washington, DC]: [Congressional Black Caucus / National Black Leadership Roundtable], 1982. Staplebound. Near fine. Octavo, 44pp., illustrated. A near fine copy in the publisher's stapled wraps, with a faint ring stain to the front wrap. A framework action plan for dealing with issues affecting the African-American community in the early 1980s. Laid-in is a kind of introductory leaflet signed in print by Congressman Walter E. Fauntroy, who was then the Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. Though this document was clearly produced under the leadership of the CBC, and one might think that such a document would be printed by the GPO, in fact the leaflet notes that some "Black business persons" paid for the printing of 35,000 copies, and the leaflet solicits further donations to print more of them. Despite this large printing, fewer than two dozen copies are separately catalogued in OCLC.

Chicago: National Bowling Association, 1960. Newspaper format. Fine. Folded tabloid magazine format, opening to about 11" x 17". 12pp., illustrated. About fine, with very mild edgewear; appears unread. A surprisingly rare periodical for the National Bowling Association. Despite its rather generic name, the NBA was at the time an African-American league (technically, it was "integrated," but it was de facto nearly all-Black). It had been founded in 1939 as the National Negro Bowling Association, though a number of Asians, Native Americans and other non-white who had been shut out from the major white bowling leagues had joined the ranks of the NBA. The organization is still extant as of 2023. This magazine/newsletter is well-illustrated with photographs of male and female bowlers, with relevant industry news and updates on tournaments, etc. We were quite surprised to find just one OCLC accession number for "NBA Bowler," with no actual holdings-for any issue. A rare volume documenting mid-century… Read More

Detroit: Self-published, 1964. First Edition. Comb binding. Near fine. Quarto, 32pp., illustrated. Comb binding. Binding with a small crack, repaired with tape. Contents near fine, with a small stain to the front wrap. A fantastic, well-illustrated celebration of ten years of this beautician academy owned and operated by an African-American woman, Mary Hall. She writes a moving tribute to her late husband, Joseph, on the interior of the front wrap. He had founded the business, and had the idea to "unite the barber and beauty businesses." The contents are too varied to list in their entirety. There are individual portrait snapshots of various graduates, advertisements, testimonials, and a number of group photographs for various classes ("Wig Styling," "Rolling and Pincurling," etc.), and many more. There is a photograph of the late Joseph Hall earning a Life Membership in the NAACP alongside that organization's Treasurer Moses K. Fritz. Hardly any information is easily found about this institution… Read More

Philadelphia: Philadelphia Writers Club, 1964. Fine. Folded invitation or handbill, which opens to 5 1/8" x 8 1/4". In fine condition, with original mailing fold. An invitation to a public reading by Lucy Smith and Helen Morgan Brooks, with selections from a new volume of collected poetry entitled "New Negro Poets: USA," edited by Langston Hughes. The guest speaker for the event was John Henrik Clark, and there was a musical performance by the Stars of Zion A Cappella Choir. The invitation also advertises that signed copies of the book would be available (presumably signed by Hughes?) A nice ephemeral document.

Chicago: Geo. Lauterer Corp, 1972. Staplebound. Good. Quarto, 15pp., illustrated. LACKING one leaf (pp. 3-4), and with the order form torn out. A few stains and small creases; overall in good condition. Despite the missing page, an otherwise wonderfully illustrated catalog displaying the bejeweled and otherwise well-appointed ceremonial regalia used in the IBPOEW and its female auxiliary, the oldest extant African-American fraternal organization in America. Aprons, gloves, gavels, collars, emblems, books, etc. all abound. A highly ephemeral piece; we found none similar separately listed in OCLC. An important visual document from the era just after the Civil Rights Movement, when these kinds of segregation-era organizations with long and proud histories were in a state of flux.

CHicago: Charles P. Williams, 1912. Very good. Postcard, measuring a little shy of 5.5" x 3.5." The recto depicts the "Williams Jubilee Singers," an African-American singing group, in full travel regalia, with hats and suitcases emblazoned with travel stickers. It advertises that they are touring Europe. On the verso, the sender has typed a notice that the group will be in Delta, Colorado performing on July 4th and 5th. The card is addressed to one [C. C.?] Davis of Cedaredge, Colorado. Someone has pencilled a date of 1912, which seems accurate. The stamp has been lifted, with loss to the "place stamp here" spot, as well as some of the postmark. Minor wear to extremities, and a few faint creases; very good.

Philadelphia: People's Baptist Church, 1965. First Edition. Self-wrappers. Good. Square octavo, [4]pp., illustrated. Folded sheet, in good condition, with some soiling, staining, and creasing, but complete, and with all content legible. A program of events celebrating the new home of the People's Baptist Church. The illustration on the front wrap depicts two buildings, one the existing church building at 1808-12 Eastrick Ave., and another the new building at 5039 Baltimore Ave., with a series of footprints between the two, depicting the journey from their old building to their new one. The day's events are planned in detail, beginning with a final worship service in the morning at the old church, a "motorcade" to the new one, and a lengthy service to follow. A call-and-response "scripture reading" from Hebrews is printed in full. The church is still extant, and at the 5039 Baltimore Ave. address. Per their website, Rev. Williams was pastor for decades, until his retirement in 2010.

Atlanta: Southern Christian Leadership Conference [SCLC], 1982. Staplebound. Very good. Quarto, unpaginated [22pp.], illustrated. Very good in the publisher's printed blue cardstock wraps, stapled. Contents printed on the same paper as the wraps. Faint discoloration to edges; clean internally. A well-illustrated souvenir book from the 1982 Drum Major Awards Dinner hosted by the SCLC on the 14th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Among the awardees profiled in this booklet are Mayor Richard Hatcher of Gary, IN, the Morehouse School of Medicine, a group of lawyers in Wrightsville, GA who fought and won a difficult civil rights case that year, as well as James Meredith, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, and Hamilton E. Holmes, among others. Many more photographs and captions reflecting on the year of work done by SCLC and related organizations make up the rest of the contents, as well as the proceedings at the formal dinner. Some advertisements appear at the end, including a plug for… Read More

Institute, WV: West Virginia State College, 1938. Staplebound. Very good. Quarto, unpaginated (40pp.), illustrated. A very good copy in the publisher's printed staped wraps, with some gentle corner creases and mild rubbing. A bit fragile, but sound. A vivid, well-illustrated portrait of this HBCU, taken at the height of the Depression and some of the darkest days of segregation. Nearly 100 images depict campus life, and all have descriptive captions. The wide variety of disciplines and trades offered by the college is on display, from woodworking and masonry to printing, theatre, and biology. Some captions are a little tongue-in-cheek, including one for a group of female students in a home economics class, which simply states: "Future Housewives." While this bulletin seems to have had a long and successful run, we could only locate a single identifiable holding for this special illustrated issue in OCLC, at Brown. A scarce image-driven pre-war portrait of this HBCU.

Pittsburgh: Sixth St. Mt. Zion Baptist Church / Gaines Funeral Home, 1967. First Edition. Folded sheet. Fine. Octavo, [4]pp. Bifolium pamphlet. In about fine condition, gently toned. Funeral program for the man generally regarded as Pittsburgh's first African-American millionaire, William "Woogie" Harris. Harris was a celebrated community figure, the owner of a numebr of successful businesses, but was perhaps best known for being the primary figure in Pittsburgh's "numbers racket." For this reason, he has been overlooked as a figure in 20th century African-American history. But as his funeral program states, "He gave freely of his time and money to many charitable, civic and religious organizations." In fact, He and his wife Ada rented out the top floor of their spawling Pittsburgh home to Mary Cardwell Dawson and her National Negro Opera Company, which was able to expand during the 1940s to several regional cities. No doubt this kind of patronage helped to secure his good community reputation. On… Read More

(New York): (William H. Sadlier), 1968. Softcover. Very good/very good. Square octavo, 253pp., illustrated. A very good copy in wraps. Most interestingly, the volume is housed in a vernacular dust jacket, stapled to the wraps, which has several advertisements for Cleveland businesses, mostly catering to the African-American community in intown Cleveland, ca. 1968. The book itself (an apparent exploration of modern Catholic teaching in the shadow of Vatican II; aimed at an adolescent audience) is scarce, but we are at least as interested in the jacket.

[not published], 1958. Staplebound. Fine. Three-page typescript, executed on thick onionskin paper, and corner-stapled. Two neat horizontal folds, else in fine condition. SIGNED by Taylor on the bottom of the first leaf, with an inscription to a close friend, "Aquilla, Love - Here 'tis. Thanks so much for calling. See you in a few days - with Rudy. Love G." (According to the previous owner, "Aquilla" is one "Aquilla Matthews," a minor figure who has a small amount of correspondence with Horace Mann Bond in the latter's papers at UMass-Amherst). Based on a brief reference to the Explorer 1 rocket launch ("the other day"), we can approximate the date this speech to February, 1958. The speech is a kind of "state of the union" for Baptist preaching in New York City, celebrating Billy Graham's recent revivals at Yankee Stadium and Madison Square Garden. Taylor spends significant time on racism, as well, writing: "Many of us think that the great danger of our times is the frowning nemesis traveling on the… Read More

Washington DC: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), 1956. Very good. 5 leaves, each about 8" x 8", each being a "wanted" poster for an African-American male, dating from 1952 to 1956. Punch holes near the top and mild age-toning to extremities, but all in very good, clean condition. These wanted posters were mailed from the FBI office in Washington to the Postmaster in South Orrington, Maine (as indicated on the verso). Each of the individuals was born in the south, though many of their alleged offenses were perpetrated in northern cities. Three of the posters indicate "criminal records" for the individuals, noting such crimes as murder, assault, larceny, and "malicious mischief." All of the individuals are wanted for "[avoidance of] prosecution to commit murder," or very similarly worded language for the same crime. Considering the era, and the sometimes-paranoid law enforcement tactics of J. Edgar Hoover (whose printed name appears on each document), one wonders the degree of guilt of any of… Read More