New York City: 1898. Unbound. One of the advertising envelopes is from the Booking Office of John W. Isham’s Oriental America and Octoroons and features ornate lettering and an oval half-tone portrait of Isham. The other cover is from Howley, Haviland & Company, the publishers of the Octoroons’ hit song... More
Manchester: William Irwin, 1848. First Edition. Leather. 8vo. Deluxe edition with two extra (twelve total) full-page engravings with tissue-guards. xxv, 564 pp plus 2 pages of advertisements. Black morocco with gilt decorations and lettering. All edges gilt. Text printed within an engraved border. Expertly rebacked with original spine laid down... More
Philadelphia: International Printing Company, 1948. First Edition. Hard Cover. 8vo. Complete. 97 pages plus frontispiece. Signed by the author on the title page. Sound binding with intact hinges. Clean pages. Gift inscription on the front free endpaper. Almost no wear to cover. Somewhat scarce biography about a staunch supporter of... More
![Abraham's Daughter, or Raw Recruits [Sheet Music]. Dan Bryant.](/pictures/thumb/007954.jpg?v=1465418748)
New York: Firth, Pond & Co. 1861. First Edition. Sheet Music. Complete: 6 pages including the cover. Early Civil War music with a terrific cover showing five black misfit volunteers in various milita and zouave uniforms. Slightly trimmed and with nice corners and old tape binding so probably from an... More
Boston: Henry Tolman & Co. Circa 1860. First Edition. Sheet Music. From Buckleys Comic Songs as sung by R. Bisop Buckley [and] Buckleys Serenaders. 5 pages including the front cover. Cover includes five b/w vignettes showing members of the Serenaders. One of the vignettes shows R. Biship Buckley, and the... More
[Vicinity of Saigon]: 15 October 1968. This eight-page mimeographed fact sheet with typewritten cover was prepared for the Commanding General of the 199th Infantry Brigade. It is dated 15 October 1968 and was written while the unit was responsible for defending the northern approaches to Saigon. Its stated purpose was... More
Taylor County, Kentucky. 1860. Unbound. Three one-page Taylor County, Kentucky documents regarding the sale of two slaves, Ann and her son John, as part of an inheritance lawsuit following the death of their owner, James F. Campbell of Taylor County, Kentucky. All three documents are in nice shape. After James... More
[Philadelphia]: T. M. Scroggy, 1855. _. Broadside. Songsheet lyrics for a popular minstrel song originally published as sheet music several years earlier. 6" x 8". African-American dialect.Light wear and marginal toning. Very faint vetical crease. Five stanzas recounting a slave's surreptitious trip to Charleston to visit a woman while his... More
Duluth, Minnesota: Duluth Superior Milling Co, 1909. Unbound. The multi-color illustrated advertising cover (envelope) features a African-American baker, dressed in a spotless white suit with red tie, resting his right elbow on a sack of Duluth Flour while holding a sliced loaf of white bread in his left hand. The... More
Philadelphia: George W. Taylor, 1853-1854. Half leather. 24 monthly issues bound together. Complete; each volume contains 104 text pages. Half-leather with marbled boards; 6.75” x 10.25”. Sound binding. Clean pages with light intermittent foxing. Old pencil annotation at top of the first title page. Light dampstain to the first six... More
Greensboro, Alabama: 1847. Unbound. Two-page letter from Huckabee at Greensboro, Alabama, is addressed to “Bro Lumkin,” address unknown. In this letter, Huckabee responds to questions from Lumkin about slaves that Lumkin had previously sold to Huckabee. “Inclosed I send you a check drawn by Mome & Dickey of Mobile of... More
New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1881. Church, Frederick S. and James H. Moser. First Edition, 1st State. Hard Cover. 12mo. Meets all BAL 7100 first state points. 232 pages. 8 pp. advertisements. Frontispiece and 7 plates inserted; other illustrations in text. Last line of p. 9 shows the word... More
New York: E.P. Dutton, 1939. Hogan, Inez. First Edition, 1st Printing. Hard Cover. 12mo. Complete with dust jacket. Sound binding with intact hinges. Clean pages. Cover has light wear and soiling; a split along the spine is just starting. Minor wear to most of the dust jacket, but missing about... More
On board the Euterpe: January 5, 1865. 1865. Unbound. Lightly soiled with some doodling at the upper corner of the first page. In this letter, Goddard expresses heartfelt sorrow to “Eva” that he would not be able to take leave for a visit. The reason he explains as follows: “We... More
[Cayuga Lake, New York]: 1843. Unbound. This two-page folded-letter measures 15.75” x 9.75” unfolded. From “J.H.N.” in Jacksonville, New York to Sam Conklin at Lake Ridge [Point], New York, 1843. The letter is dated August 20, 1843. Addressed in rhyme: "This line I now place in Uncle Sam’s care/To make... More
![Sweet Memories of Dixie [Sheet Music]. Laurence C. Jones.](/pictures/thumb/007591.jpg?v=1465418728)
Piney Woods (Braxton), Mississippi: Piney Woods School, 1924. Sheet Music. The front cover is illustrated with black sweethearts in a rowboat and a photograph of Jones. There are numerous photos of the Piney Woods School and its students on the rear cover. Very nice shape. Clean with no tears or... More
Bo-Peep Series, 1900. Soft Cover. 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall. An uncommon edition of this classic racist nursery rhyme. Complete with twelve colorful lithographs (one double-page) along with music and lyrics. Old, neatly done, thread and paper reinforcement to the spine. Minor wear and light soiling; faint dampstain... More
Philadelphia: John C. Winston, 1941. MacKnight, Ninon. First Edition. Hard Cover. 4to. Complete with dust jacket. Sound binding with intact hinges. Clean pages. Light wear to cover. Slight spine slant. Price-clipped dust jacket is edge-worn, heaviest at top of spine; closed tear on front cover. Child's name on front free... More
![Bella Rosa [Sheet Music]. The Campbell Minstrels.](/pictures/thumb/008439.jpg?v=1465418835)
New York: Wm. Hall & Son, 1848. First Edition. Sheet Music. Complete with 5 pages including the front cover. Wonderful black, white, and tan cover illustration with six vignettes, five of which show the Campbells performing both male and female roles in blackface.Once bound in a private album, so the... More
New York: Jos. W. Stern, 1902. First Edition. Sheet Music. 8 pages including the cover. Clean; no splits or tape. Some minor cover wear including tiny closed marginal tears. Owner's name on front cover. Long before he wrote the classic fictional autobiography, "The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man," James Weldon... More
Louisville, Kentucky: 1929. This small 2” x 3” typewritten advertisement was enclosed in the accompanying envelope with a printed return address that reads, “Presbyterian Colored Missions, Incorporated, 314 South Hancock Street, Louisville, KY.” The advertisement reads, “EXTRA ****** WANTED—TEACHERS At the Presbyterian Colored Missions, 314 S. Hancock St. Won’t YOU... More
Hardinsburg, Kentucky: 1825. Unbound. This three-page folded-letter measures 14.75” x 12.25” unfolded. Sent from Hardinsburg, Kentucky to Bedford, Virginia, dated March 14th, 1825. It has a manuscript “Hardingsburg Ky / Mar 15th” postmark with a “Paid 50” rate marking indicating that postage was paid for a delivery over 400 miles... More
Probably printed in Philadelphia: No publisher identified, May 5, 1870. Unbound. This striking handbill printed in a variety of fonts and measuring 6” x10” is in very nice condition. It reads, in part: "Hedgehog's grand combination of the powers of darkness, will exhibit at Jake Key's Roost, Thursday evening, May... More
St. Louis: circa 1950. Unbound. This 7” x 5” night-time photograph shows five fashionably dressed, young black men posing with a bright and shiny, light colored 1950 Ford Tudor sedan. The photo has some minor, hard-to-see wrinkling. It is annotated on the reverse, "the Ville." At one time, the Ville... More
Mississippi: circa 1950. Unbound. This 7” x 5” photograph shows what appears to be three generations of African-American men working inside a blacksmith or equipment repair shop on a large Mississipi farm. Shop equipment includes acetylene tanks and welding torches, an anvil, tongs, vices, assorted hand tools, and a massive... More
