We recently received a joint catalogue from James Cummins Bookseller and Between the Covers Rare Books. The title is African-Americana Literature & History, with the subtitle Selections from the Inventory & Private Collections of Waiting for Godot Books. Godot's proprietor, Gary Oleson, died earlier this year. In reading through the material, it becomes clear just how different the African American experience in America is from that of others. Standard Americana is filled with stories of settlers, travelers, political and business leaders. For African Americans, it is filled with racial prejudice, from slavery to segregation to more subtle forms of discrimination. One can only imagine how much more these Americans would have been able to achieve if not forced to fight obstacles others did not face all their lives. Here are a few selections from this catalogue.
We begin with a book from the most famous of all the Civil Rights leaders, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? by Martin Luther King, Jr. The year was 1967 and the Civil Rights movement was in transition, from basic rights such as desegregation to more subtle and difficult ones, such as social and economic justice. Meanwhile, the Vietnam War was taking resources away while thousands of young people were dying in a pointless lost cause. In this book King tackles the issues needed to truly move the nation and the world to a more just order, but unfortunately, he would not have the chance, struck down by an assassin's bullet the following year. This is a special copy as it is inscribed by King, “To Mrs. Henry Labouisse, With appreciation for your great support. Martin Luther King, Jr.” The name Mrs. Henry Labouisse may not be familiar, but she was Eve Currie, daughter of the great French scientists, Pierre and Marie Currie. King had won a Nobel Prize as had Mrs. Labouisse's parents. Her husband, Henry Labouisse, had also accepted a Nobel Prize, on behalf of UNICEF. They had much in common. Mrs. Labouisse was also an author, having won a National Book Award for her biography of her mother. Item 59. Priced at $25,000.
This item can make you think when placed in the context of schools today, not just in 1939 when it was published. The title is Anti-Negro Propaganda in School Textbooks by Walter White, published by the NAACP. It provides excerpts from books that distort the role of Blacks in American society, promote Jim Crow laws, and even support the Klan. Recently, we have seen a rash of laws proposed to prohibit the teaching of the treatment of African Americans in history, minimizing the reality of racism, effectively encouraging its lingering influence today. Item 38. $600.
It's one thing to intellectually and dispassionately understand the experiences of African Americans in America, but very different to see it as a personal journey. No one has done a better job of enabling others to both understand and feel that journey, from capture in Africa to the slave ships, slavery, and up to current times, like Alex Haley. Roots is the journey of Haley's family from slave ships to today's time, a work of monumental research. In 1973, Haley wrote an article for the London Observer documenting that research, beginning with stories he heard from his grandmother and great-aunts, including their earliest ancestor to whom they referred as “The African.” Item 48 is Haley's manuscript of that article, 43 typed pages. More than half of them have been heavily edited by the author in his signature green pen. Other pages have scattered corrections, cross-outs, and marginal notes. Nine pages have earlier edited versions stapled to them. This article formed the basis for the final three chapters of Roots. The manuscript is accompanied by a signed program from a dinner honoring Haley, two edited drafts of letters from Haley to his editor, and a letter from the editor to Haley's literary agent. $60,000.
Lemuel Haynes was a mixed race man, born of an unknown white woman and black man, taken in by a white church deacon from Granville, Massachusetts. Deacon David Rose and his wife raised him almost as family, providing for his education, particularly his religious upbringing. After service in the Continental Army, Haynes studied for the ministry, where he excelled. He became the first ordained black minister in America, and his congregations were predominantly white. He was a strong advocate for abolition, liberty for all black people, and opposed the colonization movement that sought to return free Blacks to their ancestors' African homeland. He believed they should be treated equally in America. Item 50 is A Sermon Lately Delivered on Universal Salvation: A Very Ancient Doctrine; with Some Account of the Life and Character of Its Author, published in 1818. It mistakenly lists the author as “Samuel” Haynes. Perhaps surprisingly, considering his support for universal liberties for all people, it's a satirical attack on Hosea Ballou and the doctrines of Universalism the latter supported. His strict Calvinist upbringing could not countenance religious universalism. $1,500.
This is a poster with a positive, uplifting message. It's from the U. S. Government Printing Office in 1942, the middle of the Second World War. Two men are seen riveting a piece of equipment. Behind them is a large American flag. One man is black, the other white. The large caption reads United We Win. It's a reminder that in times of trouble, race doesn't matter. We all need to stand together. The same should apply in good times as well. Item 115. $750.
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