Description
The scarce first edition, first printing of The First Book of Negroes by Langston Hughes.
Square octavo, 69pp. Full green cloth, title in gilt on spine and front cover. Full-color pictorial endpapers. Stated “First Printing” on copyright page. Solid text block, touch of rubbing along edges of binding, a near fine example. Features numerous color and black-and-white illustrations by Ursula Koering. In the publisher’s first state dust jacket, $1.75 retail price on front flap, a few chips to corners, short closed tears to top edge, small loss to rear panel.
A vibrant example.
This first printing is notable for the inclusion of Josephine Baker; a dancer and actress who was the first Black woman to appear in a major motion picture (Siren of the Tropics). Baker was accused of Communist sympathies by New York columnist Walter Winchell in 1951, which led to her fleeing to France for nearly a decade. These accusations led to her swift removal from all later printings of this book.
The First Book of Negroes is the first of a five book series by Langston Hughes, all of which aimed to educate children on the history of African people and the accomplishments of African Americans. The later publications include: The First Book of Jazz (1954), The First Book of Rhythms (1954), The First Book of the West Indies (1956), and First Book of Africa (1964).
