1. Abbot, Francis Harris, 1877-1933, collected by. Eight Negro Songs [From Bedford Co. Virginia]. NY: Enoch & Sons, n.d. [Editor's note dated July 1923]. 47p. Wr. 31cm. Cover splitting at bottom of fold. Edited by Alfred J. Swan. 75.00

2. Abstract of the Evidence Delivered before a Select Committee of the House of Commons in the Years 1790 and 1791; on the Part of the Petitioners for the Abolition of the Slave-Trade. London: Printed by James Phillips, George Yard, Lombard Street, 1791. Second edition. [2], xx [i.e. xviii], 141 [1]p. [bound with] The Debate on a Motion for the Abolition of the Slave-Trade in the House of Commons on Monday and Tuesday, April 18 and 19, 1791, Reported in Detail. London: Printed by James Phillips, George Yard, Lombard Street, 1792. Second edition. [4], 133, [2]p. Old ½ leather. 18cm. Cover worn and heavily rubbed, lacking leather corners. Joints tender. Original owner's name on both title-pages; another name on endpaper. First item lacks the folding plate of a slave ship. Old brown stains on last two leaves of first item. Good. The 1791 vote on abolition failed (88 to 163). 500.00

3. Account of the Sale of the Land and Negroes of Macharine Buckley. Dated March 26, 1858. Talbot County, Georgia. Folded four-page document. 20 x 31cm. Written in a reasonably clear hand. List of land and slaves on first two pages. 86 slaves listed, most individually with prices realized, but including 24 children (who were sold with their mothers and not listed by name). The slaves brought about $60,000; unidentified "lots" of land about $5000. 375.00

4. [Amistad Affair] Adams, John Quincy, 1767-1848. Argument of John Quincy Adams, Before the Supreme Court of the United States, in the Case of the United States, Appellants, vs. Cinque, and Others, Africans, Captured in the Schooner Amistad, by Lieut. Gedney, Delivered on the 24th of February and 1st of March, 1841. With a Review of the Case of the Antelope, Reported in the 10th, 11th and 12th Volumes of Wheaton's Reports. NY: S. W. Benedict, 1841. 1st ed. 135p. Disbound (removed from a bound volume). No wrapper present. 22cm. Substantial but mostly moderate foxing. Adams, who achieved more distinction as a former President than as President, argued the case before a Supreme Court composed mostly of white Southerners. Nonetheless, the Supreme Court decision in this case was a victory of sorts for the surviving African captives. Private donors subsequently enabled them to return to Sierra Leone. 650.00

5. Aetna Life Insurance Company, Hartford, Ct. Slave Policy. No. 87. Dated January 20, 1859. Folded four-page document. Partly printed. 35cm. Three horizontal folds (for filing). Clear and legible. A few creases and other wear. Included with this is a partly printed Executor's Bill of Sale dated 1859 conveying Joseph to Dr. Pelzer from the Estate of Wm. Barnwell for the sum of $1210. Includes a brief holograph letter, presumably from a lawyer, indicating who the proper parties were to execute the Bill of Sale. The policy, issued to Dr. A. P. Pelzer, of Charleston, South Carolina, insures Jacob, described as a House Servant for $800, for a term of five years with an annual premium of $18. The "Register of the Slave or Slaves Insured in this Policy" records that the annual premium was paid to Hayden and Whilden, agents, in January 1860 and again in January 1861. No further payments are recorded -- Fort Sumter and all that. The third page is blank and the fourth page contains only a partly printed column, visible as folded, giving policy details: Agency at Charleston SC, No. of Policy 87, etc. 3000.00

6. African Methodist Episcopal Church. A.M.E. Church Liturgy. Philadelphia: A.M.E. Book Concern, 1952. 121p. Hardcover. 15cm. Blank corner(s) clipped on three or four text pages. Backstrip worn at ends. Good. 40.00

7. African Methodist Episcopal Church. The Doctrine and Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Philadelphia: A. M. E. Book Concern, 1888. 19th revised ed. index, 426p. plus half-page Explanatory Note at end. Cloth. 13cm. Extremities rubbed & frayed. A few cover spots. Hinges weak (front hinge held on by cords). Contents age-toned but sound. Good. 275.00

8. African Methodist Episcopal Church. Official Souvenir Program: Summer Session Council of Bishops and the Connectional Conference ... Allen Temple A.M.E. Church Sixth at Broadway Cincinnati, Ohio Held June 24 to June 26, 1942 n.p.: 1942. photos, 48p. Wr. 31cm. 50.00

9. African Methodist Episcopal Church. Women's Missionary Society. Promotion and Missionary Education Committee. Women's Missionary Society Year Book, 1965-1966. n.p.: n.d. [1965]. 191p. Wr. 22cm. Minor cover soil. 45.00

10. African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. Certificate of Appointment in the Michigan Annual Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. [Philadelphia?]: n.d. Partly printed. Broadside. 16 x 33cm. Later folds. Good. Filled out in ink to appoint Rev. F. G. Mayo as pastor of the AME Zion Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Signed on Dec. 4, 1921 in Suffolk, Virginia, by Bishop G. L. Blackwell. 40.00

11. African United Baptist Association of Nova Scotia. Minutes of the African United Baptist Association of Nova Scotia. 91st Sessions Convening with Preston East United Baptist Church Preston, Nova Scotia August 19th to 21st, 1944. 92nd Sessions Convening with Weymouth Falls United Baptist Church Weymouth Falls, N.S. August 17th to 20th, 1945. n.p.: n.d. 31p. Wr. 23cm. Minor cover spotting and wear. 50.00

12. [Agreement to Manumit]. Abner Beckwith covenants to "Liberate, Manumit and Set Free" a male slave named Dick Eight Years from Dec 15, 1814. Holograph broadside document. 25cm. Some staining and fading but still readable. Fair. No location given. Reference is made to a separate document of the same date by which Beckwith purchased Dick from Charles Shaw and Robert McDonnell. Beckwith promises that until Dick is set free, Beckwith will provide for Dick "in sickness & health every thing necessary for one in his situation." 300.00

13. Air Nitrates Corporation. The Muscle Shoals Cyanamid News, Vol. I, No. 1. Muscle Shoals: n.d. [1918]. Folded four-page newsprint labor recruiting document in the form of a newspaper. 47 x 61cm. Moderately browned. Later horizontal fold. Edge-wear along top. Good. Issued to recruit African American workers. Claim, in ears on both sides to the title: "Devoted to the Best Interests of the Negro Workingmen." Headline: "Government Cyanamid Plant at Muscle Shoals affords Negro Labor Wonderful Opportunities." Other articles trumpeted the 1200 seat movie theater for African American employees and the fine conditions of health and sanitation. Large quarter-page advertisement on page three headed: "Best Job You Ever Had, Boy." 250.00

14. *Akin, Emma E. A Booker T. Washington School. Oklahoma City: Harlow, 1938. 1st ed. ills, photos, (9), 217p. Cloth. 19cm. Moderate cover soil. Tear at top of title-leaf repaired with archival tape. Negro American Series, Book 3. 3rd grade reader for African American schools. 100.00

15. *Akin, Emma E. Ideals and Adventures. Oklahoma City: Harlow, 1938. 1st ed. photos, ills, 251p. Green cloth. 19cm. Backstrip scuffing & fading. Small stain in upper right corner of first few leaves. Good. Negro American Series, Book 4. Similar reader for 4th grade. 65.00

16. *Albion Literary Society, Albion, New York. Minute Book of the Albion Literary Society 1867.[Inked title on first page]. Ruled and numbered journal. 29cm. Covers quite worn. Most pages detached. Fair. The first 63 pages contain the minutes of a literary society organized by African American residents of Albion, New York. Minutes generally legible; a few pages written in a very light hand. Spelling is variable. Albion is located in the northwest corner of New York State about midway between Rochester and Niagara Falls. The Society was organized on Dec. 3, 1867 and met weekly thereafter, for the most part, until May, 1868. The last few minutes report on a few sporadic meetings thereafter in 1868. The last two entries, for Oct. & Dec., 1868, report on meetings that seem more political and organizational than literary (the Albion Literary Society name is not used at those meetings). Their earlier meetings are full of debate, music, declamations, bylaw amendments, difficulties in collecting dues. etc. The program for a few meetings included debates on set topics, such as "Are the male citizens of this or any other country justified in denying women political rights?" and "Which has the most cause to complain of his Rights -- the Red man or the Black Man?" Debate topics are recorded and are the names of those who debated and the results of the debate. Speakers and debaters seem to always be male. The Ladies mostly sang. The Society had some members from Medina to the West and Holley to the East. Medina and Holley members argued that their travel to meetings in Albion should be subsidized. One meeting was held in Medina. The society tried to meet with a similar Literary Society in Lockport but it is unclear whether that ever happened. One meeting was addressed by a minister from Rochester. Membership peaked at less than fifty. The organization appears to have foundered on a constant lack of funds, failures to pay dues, resignations, and unexplained disagreements among the members. They managed to rent a hall for their meetings for several months but don't ever seem to have been able to afford to get enough chairs for the attending members. The balance of the journal contains financial records which have no obvious relation to the Society or to its former members. 3750.00

17. *Aldridge, Gates. The Blind Man's Composition. n.p.: n.d. Small narrow broadside (7 x 23cm.). Later folds. Some small chips, tears and corner stain. Corner chipped at top (and reinforced on the back with paper). Possibly trimmed or cut from something larger. Fair. The poem tells of being born on the Wilton farm three miles from Yazoo City, Mississippi to a slave mother and a white father. He becomes blind when about 20 and finds a woman to love from Kemper County when he was 34, which seems to be about when this poem was written. On the face of it, this appears to be an unrecorded poem by a blind African American dating from about 1890. 225.00

18. *Aldridge, Ira, 1807?-1867. Autograph Letter, signed. Dated January 1, 1840. Written at Lancaster (England). One page. Sent to R. F. Houseman Esquire, Lune Bank (presumably an address in Lancaster which lies on the River Lune). 19 x 23cm. Houseman's address and a red wax seal on verso. Paper moderately browned. Handwriting generally clear and legible although one word in the postscript proved difficult to read.

"Will you do me the favour to apologize to Miss Houseman for not being able to send the waltz music I promised today. On my return home last night, I found that in my absence, my servants had been over industrious & packed up a great number of articles (amongst the rest, my music) which I required before leaving.

"I beg leave to solicit your acceptance of the enclosed admissions, for this evening's performance, if you can find time to honor us with your presence. With respectful regards to Mrs. Houseman, & your Mother and Sister, I remain, My Dear Sir, Most Sincerely Yours, I. F. Aldridge. Will you bear the Preston letters in your kind remembrance as I leave Lancaster before Breakfast on [?] Morning."

Ira Aldridge, the author of this letter, was the best known actor of African descent during the 19th century. He was probably born in New York or Maryland in 1807. Aldridge attended the African Free School in New York, and debuted on the New York stage in 1822, playing Rolla in an African Company production of "Pizarro." Aldridge soon moved to England where he became a well-known and popular actor, playing largely in the provinces and on the European continent. He is perhaps best know for his portrayal of the title role in Shakespeare's "Othello." 4000.00

19. All Baptist Diamond Jubilee Program Memorial Auditorium Raleigh, North Carolina August 3-6. n.p.: (1942). photos, 36p. Wr. 31cm. Moderate browning and cover soil. A few tears along fore-edge and a few light pencil notations. Good. Program for annual convention of African American Baptists in North Carolina and the dedication of their new state headquarters. 75.00

20. Allied Cosmetologists of Illinois. Twelfth Annual Convention ... May 5, 6, 7, 8, 1968. photos, approx. [72] unnumbered pages. Wr. 29cm. Partial ringmark on cover. State affiliate of the National Beauty Culturist League, Inc. African American organization. Mostly advertisements (for beauty shops, etc.). 50.00

21. Alpha Kappa Alpha. Who's Who in Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. n.p.: National Program Committee, Mary M. Chambers, Chairman, 1966. Wr. Bound only by a staple in upper left corner. 200p. 22cm. African American sorority. At Head of title: First Draft. 75.00

22. American Freedman's Union Commission. New York Branch. Brief History of the New York National Freedmen's Relief Association: to which Are Added Some Interesting Details of the Work Together with a Brief View of the Whole Field, and the Objects to Be Accomplished, Concluding with the Fourth Annual Report of the Association for 1865, with Statement and Appeal. NY: N.Y.N.F.R.A., 1866. 41, [1]p. Wr. 12cm. Faint evidence that some penciling was erased on front cover. Some text pages lightly printed. This small-format pamphlet is rather scarce. 200.00

23. American Negro Digest, Vol. 1, Fall Issue. n.p.: 1942? photos, 36p. Wr. 31cm. "LC" Periodical stamp on front cover. Good. Published quarterly in Indianapolis by American Negro Digest [p. 24]. *Louis O. Hudson, pictured on page 8, identified as editor/publisher. Statement on cover: This issue dedicated to Kentucky's contribution and tribute to the Negro in National and Civilian Defense. We don't know whether any additional issues were published. 125.00

24. American Negro Exposition. American Negro Exposition, 1863 1940: Chicago Coliseum-July 4 to Sept 2: Official Program and Guide Book. [cover title]. [Chicago: Exposition Authority, 1940]. photos, 64p. Pictorial wr. 28cm. Cover somewhat worn & soiled, and partially split along fold. Front cover attractive. Would display well. Contents sound. Good. 250.00

25. American Negro Theatre Presents Anna Lucasta, a New Play by Phillip Yordan. Adapted for the American Negro Theatre by Abram Hill and Harry Wagstaff Gribble. Folded six-page program. 25cm. Library Theatre, 103 West 135th St. in NY. Opened June 16, 1944. 40.00

26. America's Negroes Live as a "Country Within a Country," in Many Places as a "City Within a City". NY: [Interstate United Newspapers?], n.d. [1946?]. photos, (27)p. Wr. 28cm. Cover detached. Strip torn off along top of back cover. Good. Issued to convince white corporations to advertise to African American consumers through African American newspapers. Unfortunately, the missing strip on the back cover appears to have contained the name of the author/publisher. Several letters are reproduced -- all seem to be to or from the Pittsburgh Courier and Interstate United Newspapers. We've attributed this publication to the Interstate United Newspapers which was an advertising business owned by the Robert Vann, the owner of the Pittsburgh Courier. 50.00

27. Ames, Lewis G. Negro Free Masonry. 7p. typed. Wr. Stapled in upper right corner. Later folds. Moderate wear. Ownership name on cover page. Good. Ames identified as 33rd Degree, Secretary, Rochester (NY) Consistory, A. A. S. R. Ames argues for recognition of "Negro masonry" by his fellow white masons. We don't know whether this was ever published; our copy appears to be an original typed copy rather than a carbon. 75.00

28. The Amos 'n' Andy Album. (Top Ten Album No. 1). [NY?]: Audience Records, Distributed by Monitor, Mfd. by Apolllo Records, (c. 1947). Set of 4 two-sided 33 rpm records in album cover. 26cm. Ends of backstrip worn on album cover. A couple of the records are beginning to stick through the bottom of the album sleeves. Good. Records look sound and playable but we have not played them. 65.00

29. Ancient Egyptian Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine of North and South America and Jurisdiction (Prince Hall). Ritual of the Ancient Egyptian Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine of North and South America and Jurisdiction. n.p.: 1945. 5th ed. 72p. Wr. 14cm. Scuffed at fold. Minor dog-earing and soil. Good. Prince Hall Shriners. 45.00

30. *Anderson, Charles. Frustration: A Negro Poet Looks at America. n.p.: n.d. [1960]. 31p. Typed carbon copy. Printed on one side. 28cm. Metal slide fastener on left side. A few inked changes to the poems. Accompanied by a short Typed Letter, signed, from *Ray Durem's sister (*Mrs. Harold Warder) in which she states that Anderson is a young 22 year old friend of Durem's and that any encouragement or assistance that the unnamed recipient could give to Anderson would be appreciated, and that correspondence to Anderson should be sent care of Mrs. Warder in San Francisco as Anderson is moving around a lot. A 22p. pamphlet with this title was published in Puebla, Mexico in 1960 by El Grupo Literario of the "United Nations" School. Anderson is identified in the catalog entry in OCLC as having been born in 1938 which would make him 22 in 1960. We think this item was probably sent to Paul Bremen who published the Heritage Series of poetry by African American and other poets of African descent. 50.00

31. *Anderson, Garland. How's and Why's of Your Success, By Garland Anderson. Definitely Outlining How He Raised $15,000. [San Francisco?]: n.d. [1925?]. photo, 30p. Wr. 17cm. In this odd little booklet, Anderson offers his version of the power of positive thinking as it applied to this former bellhop's success in raising the money needed to produce his first play. Cover title: From Newsboy and Bellhop to Playwright. 200.00

32. Arkansas Association of Colored Women. Souvenir Program Fortieth Annual Session Arkansas Association of Colored Women. [cover title]. [Texarkana: 1945]. 12-page program (including wrapper). Wr. 22cm. Pamphlet is intact but worn with browning, a few small holes, pencil scribbling, etc. Fair. Held June 3-5, 1945 at the USO Club in Texarkana. 65.00

33. Anti-Slavery Hymns. n.p.: n.d. [1840s?]. Broadside. 21 x 37cm. Text double-columned. Old wrinkling and relatively light stains. Brown ink notes on lower corner of back have bled through to the front. At least three or four centimeters appears to have been trimmed from the bottom edge, causing the broadside to end immediately below the last lines of text. We don't know whether any publication data was lost when this was trimmed. Fair. Probably dates from the 1840s. Prints the words to six poems, three in each column: Unchain the Laborer; The Battle Field; The Harbinger; Child's Anti-Slavery Hymn; Prayer for the Slave; and What Mean Ye. Unchain the Laborer and Prayer for the Slave were written by John Pierpont and included in his "Anti-Slavery poems" published in 1843; The Battle Field was written by William Cullen Bryant and added to the fifth edition of his "Poems." [See BAL 1615]. We do not know who wrote the other poems. 475.00

34. *Andrews, Benny A.F.T.U./Bill Hodges Gallery Presents Selections from "The Revival Series" by Benny Andrews. Exhibition Dates April 13-June 17, 1995. NY: (1995). ills, (32)p. Wr. 26cm. SIGNED by Andrews (bold black signature on title-page). 150.00

35. *Armstrong, Byron K. Factors in the Formulation of Collegiate Programs for Negroes. [Ann Arbor]: n.d. [1939?]. 291p. Plain hardcover binding. 28cm. Some cover fading. Typed carbon copy of a doctoral dissertation at the University of Michigan. The author appears to have been one of the founders of Kappa Alpha Psi, an African American fraternity which was first organized at the University of Indiana. 65.00

36. Armstrong High School, Washington, D. C. Annual Exhibit Industrial Arts. Four pamphlets (with varying titles) for the 1st, 9th, 11th and 12th Annual Exhibits (1930, 1938, 1940 and 1941). (4), 12, (16), (12)p. Wrs. Size varies (21-27cm.). Condition varies (Good-Very Good). Segregated school for African Americans. 40.00

37. *Arthur, John, pseud. (Arthur Joseph). Dark Metropolis. Boston: 1936. 1st ed. 154p. Cloth. 21cm. Bookplate partially removed. Lacks free endpaper. Some soiling, especially on backstrip. Former owner's name stamp on title-page. Contents sound. Good. A novel; life in Harlem. 125.00

38. *Asante, Molefi Kete and *Kariamu Welsh. A Guide to African and African-American Art. [Buffalo]: Museum of African and African American Art and Antiquities, 1980. photos, 42p. Wr. 22 x 21cm. Cover scuffed. 40.00

39. Associated Publishers, Inc., compiler. Quick Facts About Selling The Negro Market: Where the Most Changes are Taking Place. A Handy Guide for National Advertisers and Advertising Agencies. NY and Chicago: Associated Publishers, (c. 1952). ills, 98p. Wr. Plastic comb binding. 28cm. Pieces of comb binding missing at ends. 85.00

40. Atlanta University. Atlanta University. Are You Well? Are Your Children Well? Are All Your Friends Well? Why Not Come to Atlanta University Tuesday, May 29, 1906 at 8 p.m. and Hear from Expert Physicians and Thinkers How to Keep Well How to Prevent Consumption which Kills 20,000 Negroes Every Year. It Costs Nothing. You are Welcome. Come! and Listen! and learn! [Atlanta: 1906]. Small broadside. 16 x 23cm. Pencil notes and scribbles on back (does not show through). Browned. Later folds and a small chip. Good. 50.00

41. Atlanta University. Diamond Hill Chronicle, Vol. 1, No. 1 (June, 1920). Atlanta: 1920. photos, [24]p. Wr. 23cm. Wrapper has moderate soiling. A few edge tears. First appearance of this senior annual. Fletcher Henderson was a member of the graduating class. 250.00

42. *Attaway, William. Let Me Breathe Thunder. NY: 1939. 1st ed. (7), 267p. Hardcover. 19cm. Endpapers browned. Moderate cover fading and wear. Glue marks along hinges. Good. Decent copy of his uncommon first novel. 50.00

43. *Attaway, William. Blood on the Forge: a Novel. Garden City: 1941. 1st ed. 179p. Hardcover. 19cm. Spine sl. sloped. Cover soiling. Edges rubbed. Good. His second novel. 50.00

44. Attucks High School, Ponca City, Oklahoma. The Chief 1939. photos, [24]p. Wr. 28cm. Signed by several teachers. Annual for this segregated school for African Americans. 60.00

45. Baird, Henry Carey, 1825-1912. General Washington and General Jackson on Negro Soldiers. Philadelphia: H. C. Baird, 1863. 1st ed. 8p. Wr. No separate cover. 23cm. Unevenly browned. Good. Urged the use of African American soldiers in the Union army. 150.00

46. *Baker, Josephine, 1906-1975. Les memoires de Josephine Baker. Paris: KRA, (1927). ills, 185, [2]p. Wr. 21cm. Minor scuffing and wear. Completely untrimmed, as issued, with many leaves having huge right margins. Copy No. 20 of 300 numbered copies "sur pur fil lafuma." Collected and adapted by Marcel Sauvage. French text. Her first "autobiography." 650.00

47. *Baker, Josephine, 1906-1975, with the collaboration of Jo Bouillon. La Tribu Arc-en-Ciel. Amsterdam: Mulder & Zoon, (c. 1957). 1st ed. color ills (by Piet Worm), (55)p. Pictorial boards and dj. 29cm. Jacket has some marginal tears & moderate soiling). French text. Children's book. A one-eyed black hen finds a multiracial community modeled on Baker's own family. 175.00

48. [*Baker, Josephine, 1906-1975] Folies Bergere, Paris. En Super Folies avec Josephine Baker. [cover title]. Paris: n.d. [1937]. Single strip printed on both sides which is thrice-folded to form an eight-page leaflet. Brown-toned photos on thin magazine quality paper (somewhat better quality and less acidic than newsprint). 13cm. (as folded). Captions in French. Photo of Baker, wearing pasties, some jewelry and tight briefs, and male admirer along left side of front. One of the interior photos is of Baker, elephants and tigers "en super folies." Scarce survival of a fragile little throwaway brochure. 275.00

49. *Ball, Wendy and *Tony Martin. Rare Afro-Americana: a Reconstruction of the Adger Library. Boston: G. K. Hall, (c. 1981). xvii, 235p. Black buckram. INSCRIBED by Martin to a librarian at the Schomburg. 150.00

50. *Baraka, Amiri. The Concept of a Black United Front. [cover title]. [Newark]: n.d. [1974]. 1st ed. 2p. plus front cover leaf. Wr. Stapled. 28cm. Uneven reproduction from typescript. Moderate soiling and a little foxing. Good. Printed on one side only. One of many Baraka items which seems to have been rather poorly produced. 50.00

51. [With Separate Broadside] *Baraka, Amiri. What Was the Relationship of the Lone Ranger to the Means of Production? A Play in One Act by Amiri Baraka Prepared by the Yenan Theater Workshop. NY: Anti-Imperialist Cultural Union, 1978. 1st ed. photos, 32, (5)p. Wr. 22cm. Laid in is an oblong broadside (36 x 22cm.) of blue ink on white paper advertising the production of this play May 18-June 9th at the Ladies Fort in NYC. Contains cast and production lists and an illustration of a masked Uncle Sam. Later fold. 100.00

52. Barthwell's Drug Stores Detroit Michigan. Tenth Anniversary Bulletin 1933-1943. photos, (11)p. Wr. 24cm. Some cover soil. Creased vertically. Good. According to this booklet, Barthwell, an African American pharmacist, owned a chain of six Detroit drug stores, with over 70 employees, in 1943. 40.00

53. *Bass, Charlotta A. Forty Years: Memoirs from the Pages of a Newspaper. Los Angeles: Charlotta A. Bass, (c. 1960). 1st ed. 198p. plus (36) pages of photos & ills. Maroon cloth. 22cm. A few leaves unevenly browned. A history of African Americans in Los Angeles. Bass was editor of The California Eagle, an African American newspaper in Los Angeles. 150.00

54. Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn. Specialty Marketing Dept. Relative Status of Negroes as Consumers in the United States: 1950 Prepared for General Mills, Inc. [NY]: November 1954. many charts (some folding), 194p. Wr. (stiff card binder). Metal slide fastener. Several tabs. Text mimeo or photocopy. Printed on one side only. BBDO was an important advertising agency. *Clarence Holte was head of their special marketing department and was elected in 2009 to the American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame because, according to AAF, "his studies of ethnic markets led to the development of the first known marketing campaign specifically targeted at African Americans." This appears to be one of those studies although we did not find Holte referred to by name anywhere in this study. 250.00

55. Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn. Specialty Marketing Department. Analysis and Potential of the Negro Consumer Market for Selected Cosmetics. [NY]: August 1955. tables (a few folding), 180p. Wr. (thin grey paper binder). 28cm. Lacks title label on front cover. *Holte was probably involved in the preparation of this report [as well as item 56]. 85.00

56. Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn. Ethnic Group Marketing Division. Analysis of the Negro Consumer Market and Media for Children's Clothing. [NY]: March, 1961. 37p. plus list of Ebony advertisers and other material. Wr. (paper and plastic binder). 28cm. Backstrip somewhat worn. Prepared for E. I. Du Pont de Nemours & Co. 85.00

57. *Battle, Bernard and *Adrue Odom. Battle & Odom's Gospel Treasury No. 1. Gospel Songs for All Religious Occasions for Choirs, Choruses, Solos, Trios, and Quartets. Washington: Battle & Odom Music Agency, (c. 1946). 20p. Wr. 23cm. Light creasing and soil. Dedicated to William Fleet, President of the Sunday Morning Prayer Band of the Bible Way Church of Christ in Washington, D.C. A majority of the songs have words or music (or both) by Battle or Odom. We have assumed that they are African Americans. 60.00

58. [Exhibition List] [*Bearden, Romare] Bearden: Paintings and Water Colors Inspired by Garcia Lorca's "Lament for a Bullfighter," March 25 - April 13, 1946. NY: Samuel M. Kootz Gallery, (1946). [4]p. Wr. No separate wrapper. 32cm. Horizontal fold. Includes English translation of "Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias" on interior pages and a list of 21 paintings and watercolors by Bearden on back page. 225.00

59. *Bearden, Romare and Harry Henderson. A History of African-American Artists From 1792 to the Present. NY: (c. 1993). 1st ed. photos, index, xvii, 541p. Hardcover. dj. 31cm. INSCRIBED by Henderson (who completed this work after Bearden's 1988 death). 65.00

60. *Bearden, Romare and Carl Holty. The Painter's Mind: A Study of the Relations of Structure and Space in Painting. NY: Crown, (c. 1969). 1st ed. frontis, ills, index, 224p. Purple cloth. dj. 23cm. Jacket only Fair (rather worn and reinforced with strips of heavy cellophane tape along top and bottom). 40.00

61. [*Bearden, Romare] Critique: A Review of Contemporary Art. Vol. 1, No. 2 (November 1946). ills, 40p. Wr. 23cm. Cover browned along edges. Bookshop stamp on back. Good. Includes Romare Bearden's "The Negro Artist's Dilemma" (pages 16-22). 150.00

62. Beasley, J. W. Autograph Letter, signed about his Claim against a Creek Indian Agent. Four pages on a single folded sheet. 26cm. Several fold marks where folded into a self-mailer. Instead of a stamp, Beasley, of Dardanelle, Arkansas, has written Free above his signature. Chip in blank margin where old wax seal had been applied. Rather closely written and a bit faded but still quite readable. Good. Beasley writes to Wm. A. Smallwood (who appears to have been pastor of St. Matthew's Protestant Episcopal Church) of Zanesville, Ohio asking for his help in pursuing a claim for damages occasioned by the loss of an adult male slave which the agent is said to have encouraged to run away successfully and for the loss of use of ten slaves for a period of two years which was apparently caused by interference of the agent. He then goes on to detail death or removal to Texas of witnesses, a scoundrel named Stewart who has an irrevocable power of attorney from Beasley's father, and other obstacles. He mentions Smallwood's "poor unfortunate boy" and suggests the use of electricity to restore his "lost senses." 150.00

63. Beauticians Journal & Guide. Eight Issues Vol. II, No. 10 (1949); Vol. III, nos. 2-4, 6, 10 and 12 (1949-1950); and Vol. IV, No.3 (1951). 14-18 pages per issue plus wrapper. 31cm. Address label on each issue. Minor soiling and wear. Edited by John C. Gerstner and published by Gerstner Publications in Mt. Kisco, NY. An uncommon monthly periodical for African American beauticians. The last issue in this group contains the second half of "A Salute to Annie M. Malone & Poro" - the first half apparently appeared in the previous issue which is not present here. 225.00

64. Beauty Trade, Vol. 4, No. 4 (March 1958). photos, 40p. Wr. 28cm. Small library date stamps on front cover. Good. Published monthly for African American beauticians by Calvin News Service in New York. 40.00

65. *Beck, Robert ("Iceberg Slim"). An Interview. Interviewer Robert Leighton (Editor). Undated. 21p. Printed on one side. Photocopy. 28cm. Bound at top with two brass fasteners. Very Good. Laid in are two photos of Beck -- one is a glossy publicity photo and the other is a small color Polaroid. Interview summarized on page one: Biographical information and conceptual materials and observations on the pimp life and prostitutes." Presumably published in some form. 75.00

66. *Bell, James Madison, 1826-1902. The Poetical Works of James Madison Bell. Lansing: Press of Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co., (c. 1901). 1st ed. index, 208p. plus (1)p. Index. Red cloth. Gilt bells on front cover and backstrip. 20cm. Recased with new endpapers. Gilt lettering and decoration indistinct on backstrip. Defective -- lacks both portraits (one of which was the frontis). Good. *Bishop B. W. Arnett provided a Biographical Sketch [at pages 3-14] which is the source of much that is known about this poet from Ohio (with sojourns in Ontario and California) who earned much of his living as a plasterer. This first edition contains 27 poems; five poems were added to a second (and final) edition also dated 1901. 350.00

67. *Bentley, Kenneth W. Beyond a Dream: Black Women in the Arts. Los Angeles: Carnation Company, (c. 1985). ills (some color), 57p. Wr. Narrow 28cm. Performers, writers, TV reporters, photographers, dancers, and artists. 40.00

68. Benet, W. C. Is the Negro a Failure?: A Review of the Question. [cover title]. [Augusta, Ga.]: n.d. [1886]. 9p. Wr. No separate wrapper. 24cm. Two horizontal folds (probably for insertion in an envelope. Tightly stitched along left side. Good. "With Compliments of Mr. Benet" written in a small neat hand at top. Benet was responding to an article which had appeared in the Augusta Chronicle in which Professor H. C. White of the University of Georgia stated that the "negro" was a failure as a laborer and that the South needed to import a white immigrant peasantry if it was to prosper. Benet, who appears to have been an attorney from Abbeville, South Carolina, rejected White's line of reasoning and argued that the "negro" was a strong and cheerful worker as long as whites exercised tight control and maintained separate social spheres. This first appeared in one or more issues of the Augusta Chronicle. 300.00

69. *Berry, Gail Estelle. Wendell Phillips Dabney: Leader of the Negro Protest. [Nashville]: 1964. photo [actually a grainy photocopy], ii, 151p. Black buckram. 28cm. Front pastedown marred where a bookplate or some stamping was removed. Typed carbon copy of the author's Master of Arts dissertation at Fisk University. 65.00

70. [Sheet music] *Bethune, Thomas Greene, 1849-1908. Oliver Gallop. NY: J. Horace Waters, (c. 1860). 3p. plus tinted litho portrait of young Tom on cover. Wr. 34cm. Moderate chipping, soiling, staining and edgewear but still intact and basically sound. Disbound (removed from a bound volume). Good. Cover depicts Tom, with eyes closed, standing with hat in left hand and his right hand resting on a small circular table.. Generic cover illustration intended for this and the Virginia Polka (and perhaps others). Illustration titled: Tom the Blind Negro Boy Pianist only 10 Years Old. Oliver Gallop underlined in red on list beneath illustration. 400.00

71. [Exhibition catalog] *Bickerstaff, Joyce. James Ransome: The Fine Art of Children's Book Illustration: 'Down Home:' Picturebook Paintings of Folklife in the Black South. [Poughkeepsie]: Vassar College, (c. 2003). color ills, 62p. Wr. 26cm. Exhibition brochure laid in. Fifty-one original oil and acrylic paintings by this African American artist were exhibited Sept. 29 - Oct. 21, 2003 at the James W. Palmer III '90 Gallery, Vassar College. 45.00

72. [Sheet Music] *Bilbrew, Mrs. A. C. Let's Go Americans! Los Angeles: A. C. Bilbrew, (c. 1942). 3p. Folded Wr. No separate wrapper. 31cm. Grainy blue title photo of Bilbrew printed in front cover. Song dedicated to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. A branch of the County of Los Angeles Public Library is named after Bilbrew. According to information posted on their website, Bilbrew, a Californian, was a pioneering African American singer, musician and poet and the first African American to have a radio show. 75.00

73. Bill Moyer's Journal. Transcript of "A Conversation with Maya Angelou" November 21, 1973. NY: WNET, c. 1973. 9p. Stapled in upper left corner. No cover sheet. 28cm. First page browned and a bit soiled. Good. 40.00

74. [Document] Bill of Sale. Partly Printed Form about the size of a large check. Oblong (20 x 8.5cm.). Sale of a female slave named Mahalry for $347. Age not given. Purchaser's name clearly given but not decipherable by us. Printed form intended for the sale of a slave. The seller warranted good title and warranted that the slave was sound and healthy. Blank spaces had to be filled in recording date, name of purchaser, name of slave and signature of seller. 225.00

75. [Bill of Sale] Sale of Jacob, age 28, by William MacNutt for $400 on Dec. 31, 1828. Holograph in a readable hand. Location not given. Buyer was William Thompson. 21 x 17cm. Minor chipping. Some wear along later folds. Good. Jacob is not further described 125.00

76. [Bill of Sale] Sale of a Slave named Charles, age about thirty, for $400. Dated Dec. 25, 1809 in Gallatin County, Kentucky. Sale by John Bernard as Administrator of the Estate of Thomas Bernard to Isaac Bledsoe of the same county. Small partial broadside sheet. Approx. 20 x 22cm. Some wear and browning. Quite readable although not written in a hand that would win awards for penmanship. Good. An odd transaction to occur on Christmas Day. 225.00

77. *Bivins, S. Thomas. The Southern Cookbook: a Manual of Cooking and List of Menus, including Recipes Used by Noted Colored Cooks and Prominent Caterers. Hampton: Press of the Hampton Institute, 1912. [1st ed.]. index, 239p. Bluish-gray cloth. Small hole stabbed through right edge of covers (and the edge of most pages). Extremities rubbed. Contents sound and clean. Good. Scarce cookbook. Bivins identified on title-page as Principal of the Chester Domestic Training Institute in Chester, Pennsylvania. 1000.00

78. [Jazz] Black Fire, Volume One, No. 3. Washington: Black Fire Distributors, (c. 1975). photos, [36] unnumbered pages. Wr. 28cm. Uncommon periodical that appears to be focused on African American jazz. "If you have purpose in the business of music, and your energies are directed toward bringing Black culture to a higher level of consciousness, contact Black Fire. All of the business groups mentioned in Black Fire magazine are independent producers that can be contacted through Black Fire. Unity is our purpose, not OWNERSHIP." 35.00

79. Blair, Lewis H. The Prosperity of the South Dependent Upon the Elevation of the Negro. Richmond: Everett Waddy, 1889.1st ed. ix, 147p. Green cloth. 19cm. Spotting on front cover. Former owner's name stamped on endpaper. Blair argued that the South would never become truly prosperous as long as African Americans were degraded and made lazy and uncooperative by segregation and other economic injustices. Published in hard and soft cover. 200.00

80. _____ SAME. Softcover. 20cm. Original rather fragile wrapper. Ends of backstrip (and adjacent areas) chipped. A few archival tape repairs. 150.00

81. *Blockson, Charles L. A Commented Bibliography of One Hundred and One Influential Books by and about People of African Descent (1556-1982): A Collector's Choice. Amsterdam: A. Gerits & Sons, 1989. ills, 74p. Hardcover. dj. 29cm. INSCRIBED by Blockson (on upper right corner of title-page). 50.00

82. *Bogle, Donald. Brown Sugar: Eighty Years of America's Black Female Superstars. NY: (c. 1980). 1st ed. photos, index, 208p. Hardcover. dj. 28cm. INSCRIBED by Bogle. 50.00

83. Boley High School, Boley, Oklahoma. 1917 Register: The Year Book published by the Senior Class. photos, 48p. plus (7)p. advertisements. Wr. Tied. 27cm. Appears to be the first school annual published in this all-Black town. There were five students in the Senior Class. 200.00

84. Boley High School, Boley, Oklahoma. The Bear [for 1938]. [cover title]. Boley: (c. 1938). photos, (58 unnumbered pages). Wr. Bound with two rivets. 27cm. Relatively minor wear. Early high School annual from this African American community in Oklahoma. 150.00

85. Boley High School, Boley, Oklahoma. The Boley Bear [for 1956]. n.p.: (1956). photos, text unnumbered. Yellow padded covers. 27cm. Cover soil. Good. 75.00

86. *Bontemps, Arna Wendell, 1902-1973, and *Langston Hughes, 1902-1967. Popo and Fifina, Children of Haiti. NY: Macmillan, 1932. 1st ed. frontis, ills (by *E. Simms Campbell), 100p. Orange cloth. dj. 22cm. Jacket Good but still attractive (some edge-wear and chipping, as well as rubbing and splitting along backstrip, which has a small white label with a typed call number. Former owner's name dated November 15, 1932 with added note ("from Mr. Langston Hughes") in the hand of the former owner. Church library bookplate. A children's story. The first edition is quite elusive, especially with a jacket. 650.00

87. *Bontemps, Arna Wendell, 1902-1973. God Sends Sunday. NY: Harcourt, Brace, (c. 1931). 1st ed. 199p. Hardcover. 19cm. Small spot on top of spine. Former owner's name on endpaper. This scarce novel was his first book. 300.00

88. *Boone, Theodore Sylvester. A Social History of Negro Baptists. Detroit: Historical Commission, National Baptist Convention, (1952). x, 98p. Wr. 21cm. Cover rubbed. Most text pages browned. Good. 100.00

89. *Boullon, J. M. Surrender the Dream. Philadelphia: Dorrance & Company, (c. 1976). 1st ed. 62p. Hardcover. dj. 21cm. Small tear on jacket. Laid in is an Autograph Letter, signed by Boullon, to Al Kohn at Warner Bros. Music enclosing a copy of this book. A novel. 50.00

90. Bourne, George. Picture of Slavery in the United States of America. Middletown, Con,: Edwin Hunt, 1834. 1st ed. 11 plates (including frontis), 227p. Wr. (later flexible blue cloth wrapper). 16cm. Significant foxing and browning throughout. Good. 375.00

91. *Bowen, John Wesley Edward, 1855-1933. An Appeal for Negro Bishops, but No Separation. NY: Eaton & Mains; Cincinnati: Jennings & Graham, (c. 1912). 88p. Cloth. 18cm. Cover bumped and torn on bottom edge. Good. Bowen taught at Gammon Theological Seminary. 150.00

92. *Bragg, George Freeman, 1863-1940. Men of Maryland. Baltimore: Church Advocate Press, 1914. 1st ed. frontis, index, 135p. Cloth. 17cm. Moderate soiling. Former owner's name on a couple of pages. Good. Biographical sketches of 19 African Americans from Maryland. 175.00