Page 196 - Swann Galleries - Printed & Manuscript African Americana- Sale 2308 - March 21, 2013
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(LITERATURE AND POETRY.) BANNERMAN, HELEN.
The Story of
Little Black Mingo * The story of Little Black Quibba * The Story of Little
Black Quasha * The Story of Little Black Sambo.
Color illustrations. 54, 64, 57, 72
pp. uniform 12mo, original red cloth with insets of a color illustration from each book on
the upper covers;
ALL HAVE THEIR ORIGINAL PICTORIAL DUST JACKETS
, with lists of other
Bannerman titles on the rear panels; Little Black Quasha has a printed price of “75c” on the inner
flap of the dust jacket; a few small chips.
New York: Stokes, respectively: 1900, 1903, 1908, 1908
[1,000/1,500]
FIRST AMERICAN EDITIONS OF MINGO
,
QUIBBA AND QUASHA
,
AND AN EARLY PRINT
-
ING OF SAMBO
;
ALL WITH THEIR ORIGINAL DUST JACKETS
.
Curiously enough, Little
Black Sambo, the book that started the entire series—and countless printings thereafter, was
written about a little East Indian boy, not an African. The word “sambo” however does have
its origins in west Africa, entering use in the New World via the Spanish colonies, where it was
used to describe a person of mixed race. The author of all of these stories, Helen Bannerman
was married to a British Colonial officer stationed in India. While he was off for long periods
keeping the Raj safe, Mrs. Bannerman created these stories to entertain their little boy.
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(LITERATURE AND POETRY.) CHESNUTT, CHARLES W.
Conjure
Woman.
229 pages. 8vo, original pictorial cloth, some very sloth mottling to the spine
between the title and author’s name, otherwise a fine, fresh copy
INSCRIBED AND SIGNED BY
THE AUTHOR
in a specially made slipcase. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1899
[4,000/6,000]
FIRST TRADE EDITION OF THE AUTHOR
’
S FIRST BOOK
,
INSCRIBED ON THE FIRST
BLANK
”My dear Miss Jones; May you never need the services of the conjure woman to ward
off misfortune, and may good luck come to you all your days, Sincerely, Chas. W. Chesnutt.”
The recipient of this volume has written her name on the front free end-paper: “Marie Pauline
Jones, Xmas, 1900.” Charles Chesnutt (1858-1932), author, essayist and political activist is
generally considered to be the first major African American novelist of the modern era. He had
a successful practice in the Midwest and The Conjure Woman is an interrelated collection of
stories that blend together into a novel. Chesnutt was a successful attorney with a practice in.
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