Black History Books

Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1962. -----Tight clean and square, flat spine, 144 pages, with maps, no names, minor shelf wear. Contents include: Maps / Intro / Islam in the Changing Map of Africa / Arab & African Egypt / Egypt's Efforts in Africa / Al-Azhar University & Arab Nationalism / Nasser & Neutralism / The End of a Pan-Arab Dream / Obstacles / Algeria, the Last Arab Revolt in Africa / Bourguibism: A Septartae Road / Morocco: The Heritage of a Great Arab King / A New Era? / index. Any image directly beside this listing is the actual book and not a stock photo. 1st Edition. Soft Cover. Very Good Plus. (more information)

Offered by Nessa Books (Canada)

New York, New York, U.S.A.: Harmony Books, 1987. ....Quarter bound in black cloth with red lettering on spine & gray boards, xxii + 346 pages, headband, red end papers, tight clean and square, former owners name,"Now in his own words, Chuck Berry's life and times - his St. Louis boyhood, reform school, the first hit single, touring, racism on the road, the prison stints, the comebacks, the romances, the stories behind the songs, and more ..." "If you tried to give Rock 'n' Roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry.'" - John Lennon. Any image directly beside this listing is the actual book and not a stock photo!. First Edition First Printing. Hard Cover. Near Fine/NF. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. (more information)

Offered by Nessa Books (Canada)

New York: Abrams , 1998. ....Large format soft cover (not large print), 272 pages, 206 illustrations, including 140 in full color, 8 plans, 6 maps, tight clean and square, flat uncreased spine, no names, errant ink mark on bottom edge. "Blier draws on a vast range of individual objects - crowns and masks, thrones and regalia, palace architecture, painting, textiles, body decoration, and jewelry - as well as archival photographs of art works in use in cermonies and performances. Using detailed descriptions she offers a subtle cultural reading of these complex arts. Blier's thoughtful and expert examination goes beyond particular visual analysis to explore vital questions of royalty and power, divine kingship, state cosmology, the place of women at court, and the use of art in dynastic history, diplomacy, and war. This refreshing and insightful book reveals the royal arts of Africa in all their living splendor." Contents include: Intro: Paradoxes of Rule / The Benin Kingdom: Politics, Religion, and Natural Order / Yoruba and Dahomey: Divine Authority and the Arts of Royal History / The Asante Kingdom: The Golden Ages of Ghana / Cameroon Grasslands: Royal Art Patronage in Contexts of Change / Kongo and Kuba: The Art of Rulership Display / The Continuing Vitality of Africa's Courtly Ats / Timeline / Glossary / Bibliograhy / index. . First Edition. Soft Cover. Very Good Plus Plus. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. (more information)

Offered by Nessa Books (Canada)

London: Bison Books , 1995. -----Black cloth with gilt on spine, 112 pages, fully illustrated with colour photos, ink name on title page, dust jacket is in Near Fine condtiion. "African Art, gloriously illustrated with over 80 color plates, shows the full range of African creativity, from sophisticated bronze scuplture to elaborate shell & bead headdresses, from carved wooden thrones to richly colorful textiles. This lavishly illustrated and throroughly researched survey provides a fascinating introduction to a diverse, rewarding and long-neglected subject, and will prove an irresistible companion for any art lover." Book weight packaged is around 1.5 Kilos so depending on destination extra shipping may be asked. Any image directly beside this lisitng is the actual book and not a stock photo. First Edition First Printing. Hard Cover. Near Fine/NF. Illus. by Front Jacket: Hip Mask, Benin, South-Western Nigeria, circa 16th Century. Back Jacket: Royal Throne, Bamun, Cameroon, 19th Century. Folio - over 12" - 15" tall. (more information)

Offered by Nessa Books (Canada)

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada: Mini Mocho Press, 1990. ....Large format soft cover (not large print), 273 pages, tight clean and square, SIGNED and inscribed by RUFUS CRAWFORD, illustrated with b & w photos, flat uncreased spine, faint edge wear, former owners name on inside front cover, any image directly beside this listing is the actual book and not a stock photo!. Signed by Author. First Edition. Soft Cover. Very Good Plus Plus. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. (more information)

Offered by Nessa Books (Canada)

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada: Mini Mocho Press, 1990. ....Large format soft cover (not large print), 273 pages, tight clean and square, SIGNED and inscribed by RUFUS CRAWFORD, illustrated with b & w photos, flat uncreased spine, faint edge wear, any image directly beside this listing is the actual book and not a stock photo!. Signed by Author. First Edition. Soft Cover. Very Good Plus Plus. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. (more information)

Offered by Nessa Books (Canada)

Bloomington : Indiana University Press , 1979. ...# MB 265, A Midland Book, large format soft cover (not large print), tight square and clean, 390 clean pages, former owners name on top area of title page, remainder mark on bottom edge, minor rubbing to edges, "This collection of 565 individual pieces of black folklore provides a rare combination of inclusiverness and honesty." Contents include: In the Beginning: Etiological Tales / I Raised Hell While I Was There: Tales of Heaven and Hell / Dese Bones Gon' Rise Again: Ghost Tales / Somebody Clapped for Edith Las' Night: Conjure Tales / I Hears de Call: Tales about Religion / A Nigger Ain't Shit: Self-Degrading Tales / Oh, Lord, Will I Ever? The White Woman and the Black Man / I Could Eat Her Up: Tales about Women / Be True to Me: Tales about Marital Infidelity / Goldstein, Pat, Mike, and the Like: Ethnic Jokes / The White Man Is the Devil: Tales about the Cruelty of Whites / The Bottom Rail Comes to Be the Top Riser: Outsmarting Whitey / I'm A Bad Motherfucker: Tales of the Bad Nigger / Down in the Jungle, Out on the Farm: Miscellaneous Animal Tales / Are You Ready for This: Miscellaneous Risque Tales / A Potpourri: Miscellaneous Black Folklore / Biographies of Major Contributors / Annotations. An image directly beside this listing is the actual book and not a stock photo! . 2nd Printing. Soft Cover. Very Good Plus. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. (more information)

Offered by Nessa Books (Canada)

New York: Doubleday Anchor Book , 1973. ....Tight clean and square, xxiv + 124 pages, minor edge wear, former owners name of half title page, any image directly beside this lisitng is the actual book and not a stock photo!. Anchor Books Edition 1973 . Soft Cover. Very Good. 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall. (more information)

Offered by Nessa Books (Canada)

New York: W. Morrow, 1990. -----Black cloth with silver lettering on spine, headband, 338 pages filled with b & w photos, ink name, dust jacket is in Very Good condition with a few light scratches on back cover. "An incomparable memory book that includes the most comprehensive listing of tap, acts, recordings, and films ever compiled, TAP! is the ultimate celebration of the legends who made up this most famous, most glamorous era of entertainment." Contents include: Foreword by Gregory Hines / From Pickaninny to the Palace: Willie Covan / First Tap Dancing Star of the Silver Screen: Ruby Keeler / The Hoofers Club: Leonard Reed / King of the One-Leged Dancers: Peg Leg Bates / George Murphy / The Cotton Club: The Nicholas Brothers, Fayard Nicholas / Fred Astaire's Choreographer: Hermes Pan / Bill Robinson's "Darlin": Shirley Temple / Ralph Brown / The Condos Brothers, Steve Condos / Bunny Briggs / "The Sepia Cinderella Girl": Jeni LeGon / La Vaughn Robinson / Buddy & Vilma Ebsen / Donald O'Connor / The Berry Brothers, Warren Berry / Jane Withers / Gene & Fred Kelly / Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Eddie Brown / Gene Nelson / Peggy Ryan / The Four Step Brothers, Maceo Anderson / Dancing at the Apollo, Flash McDonald / Prince Spencer / Paul Draper / Ann Miller / Frances Nealy / Jimmy Slyde / Coles & Atkins, Cholly Atkins / On the Road to Bebop: Brenda Bufalino / Tap Dancers and Tap Acts, 1900-1955 / Filmography - Tap Dancers of Film, 1900-1955 / Discography - Tap Dancers on Record, 1900-1955 / References: Books, Films/Videos / index. Packaged weigh of book is around 1.5 kilos so depending on destination extra shipping may be asked. Any image directly beside this lsiting is the actual book and not a stock photo. 1st Edition 1st Printing. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Very Good. 4to - over 9¾" - 12". (more information)

Offered by Nessa Books (Canada)

New York: HarperPerennia - Collins , 1991. ....Blue cloth with gilt on spine, headband, viii + 282 pages, tight square and clean, no names, great jacket illustration by David Diaz, dust jacket is in VG+ condition with faint edge wear. "The exact origins of the dispute between Langston Hughes & Zora Neale Hurston remain mysterious, but the vehemence of their disagreement has made Mule Bone an object of great curiosity in Afro-American literary history." Contents include: Preface / Another Bone of contention: Reclaiming Our Gift of Laughter by George Houston Bass / A Tragedy of Negro Life by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. / "The Bone of Contention" - The short story by Zora Neale Hurston / "Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life" - The play by Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston / The Mule Bone Controversy: Langston Hughes's account from his autobiography / Robert E. Hemenway's account from his biography of Zora Neale Hurston / Arnold Rampersad's account from his biography of Langston Hughes / The Correspondence. Any image directly beside this listing is the actual book and not a stock photo!. First Edition First Printing. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Very Good Plus. Illus. by David Diaz . 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. (more information)

Offered by Nessa Books (Canada)

New York: Noonday Pr, 1992. -----Large format soft cover (not large print), tight square and clean, flat uncreased spine, ink name on ffep, 168 pages, filled with over 200 color posters, publishers stamp on bottom edge. "As early as the 1920s, a thriving black film industry existed in the United States. Independent film studios - many of them black-owned - produced hundreds of "race movies," films with all-black casts, aimed at black audiences. At the height of this boom, there were as many as six hundred theaters on the race-movie circuit. The race movies covered the full spectrum of popular film genres, from musicals (The Bronze Venus) to comedies (She's Too Mean for Me) to Westerns (Two-Gun Man from Harlem) to short films, showcasing the talents of everyone from Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway to Louis Jordan. A Separate Cinema is the first book to present a histoy of black-cast films through their posters. Covering the years 1915 to 1965, the book includes more than 200 color posters, many of them very rare. In his introduction, Donald Bogle, author of Brown Sugar and Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks, places the films in a social and cultural context. A true celebration of black cultural history, A Separate Cinema offers a unique glimpse of another era and of the extraordinary energy and spirit that characterized early black film." Contents include: Preface by Spike Lee / Intro by Donald Bogle / Without a Voice / Pioneers of Independence: Oscar Micheaux & Spencer Williams / Hollywood Hijinks / A Film Anachronism: Paul Robeson / Harlem Goes West / A Gift of the Gods / Comic, Coon, or Buffoon? / Bronze Femmes Fatales / Jazzin', Jammin', and Jivin' / From the Neck Up: Minstrels / Pint-Sized Jesters / African Atrocity / Uptown Saturday Night: Race Films / With a Voice: The Postwar Period / Author's Note / index. Books packaged weight is over 1 kilo so depending on destination extra shiping may be asked. Any image directly beside this listing ist tha actual book and not a stock photo. 1st Edition 1st Printing. Soft Cover. Near Fine. 4to - over 9¾" - 12". (more information)

Offered by Nessa Books (Canada)

New York: Thomas Y. Crowell / Apollo Edition, 1967. ....Set of 3 soft covers, all are in VG condition, vi + 195, vi + 180, vi + 213 pages, all are tight square and clean, no names or store stamps, former owners book plate removed from inside front covers, minor edge wear with a few small corner creases, illustrated with b & w photos and illustrations through-out. "Milton Meltzer's celebrated 3 - volume history of the American Negro is told through the letters, speeches, memoirs, and testimony of Negroes themselves. The 1st vol., compiled from early letters and journals, carries the reader from a harrowing voyage on a slave ship to the jubilee day of emancipation. Frederick Douglass & John Brown are among the voices heard in this book. The documents in the 2nd vol. span the period from the end of the Civil War to the outset of World War 1, with emphasis on the Reconstruction period and the vigorous statements of early advocates of civil rights, The 3rd and final vol. of the series begins with the great migration from the cotton fields of the South to the big cities of the North. Through letters, memoirs, autobiographies, articles, editorials, interviews, affidavits, eye witness accounts, and testimony given in public hearings, we come to understand the deep changes taking place in the Negro's life." - "...in order to be true to one's conscience and true to God, a righteous man has no alternative but to refuse to cooperatie with an evil system. This I felt was the nature of our action. From this monent on I conceived of our movement as an act of masive noncooperation..." - Martin Luther King, Jr., 1954. Any image directly beside this listing is the actual books and not a stock photo!. First Apollo Edition . Soft Covers. Very Good. 12mo. (more information)

Offered by Nessa Books (Canada)

Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1977. -----Tight square and clean, flat spine, minor edge wear/rubbing, a few small corner creases, no names, 332 pages, with line drawings through-out. "Credo Vuzamazulu Mutwa is a practising witch-doctor in a township outside Johannesburg. Through his mother he claims descent from the witch-doctor of Dingana, Shaka's brother. He writes about many things including the Phoenician, Portuguese and Arab presence in Africa and the legends of the building of Zimbabwe. He gives an original account also of the killing of the Voortrekker hero, Piet Retief. Contents include: Intro / The Beginning / Marimba / The Ma-Iti / The Great Sin of Zima-Mbje / The Journey to Asazi / The Beast / The White Lady of the Brandberg / Kariba / From the Grass to the Stars / The Love Mat / Human or Subhuman? / The Truth about Piet Retief (Vootrekker hero) / The Softest Job in Africa / The Xhosa / The Kaffir Wars / The National Suicide of the Xhosa / The God that Died / Apartheid. Any image directly beside this listing is the actual book and not a stock photo. 2nd Penguin Printing . Soft Cover. Very Good. (more information)

Offered by Nessa Books (Canada)

New York: Bantam Books, 1951. ....# 920, tight square and clean, former owners name on inside front cover, minor edge wera, any image directly beside this listing is the actual book and not a stock photo!. First Bantam Editon. Soft Cover. Very Good. Illus. by Cover Painting by Joseph Hirsch . (more information)

Offered by Nessa Books (Canada)

Toronto: Tundra Books, 2004. -----Large format soft cover (not large print), tight clean and square, flat uncreased spine, 160 pages with maps, illustrations and photos, no names. "Prior to abolition in 1865, as many as 40,000 men, women, and children made the perilous trip from slavery in the United States to freedom in Canada. Many of them escaped via the Undergraound Railroad - a secret network of safe hiding places, furtive transportation and bold conspirators who risked their liberty, even their lives, for what they believed in. Upon reaching Canada, the fugsitives - most of them penniless, many of them illiterate - carved out new, independent lives. They built homes, schools, and churches; they became teachers, business owners, writers. And all the while, they feared for the loved ones they had to leave behind." Contents include: Intro / Human Cargo, Human Wares / Oppression & Injustice / Cruelty & Kindness / Turbulent Times / Emancipation throughout the Empire / Setting Out for the Unknown / The Kindness of Strangers / Some Names Not Forgotten / Desperate Measures / Hard Times in a Hard Land / Learning to Live in Liberty / Tracing Their Steps Today / Timeline / Suggested Reading / Source Notes / Picture Sources / index. . 1st Edition 1st Printing. Soft Cover. Near Fine. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. (more information)

Offered by Nessa Books (Canada)

New York: Alfred a Knopf Inc, 1997. ....Brown cloth with gilt on spine, (x) 512 pages + 32 full page b & w plates, with photo frontis, deckle front edge, ink sot on top edge, dust jacket is in VG condition with a closed 1" tear front top right corner at flap. Contents inlcude; Prologue (1962) / In Pharoh's Land: Cairo, Georgia (1919 - 1920) / A Pasadena Boyhodd (1920 - 1937) / Pasadena Juniour Collee (1937 - 1939) / Blue and Gold at UCLA (1939 -1941) / Jack in the World at War (1941 - 1944) / A Royal Entrance (1946) / A Brooklyn Dodger (1946 - 1947) A Most Valuable Player (1947 - 1950) / Free at Last (1950 - 1952) Dodging Blows, Foighting Back (1952 - 1955) / The Bottom of the Ninth (1955 -1957) / Like Starting Over (1957 - 1960) / A New Frontier (1960 -1964) / On the Killing Ground (1964 - 1968) / Rounding Third (1968 - 1971) / Heading Home (1971 - 19712 / Epilogue (1997) / Notes / index. . First Edition First Printing. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. (more information)

Offered by Nessa Books (Canada)

Toronto: Royal Ontario Museum, 1970. - Black boards with white and black lettering, 251 pages filled with b & w photos plus 8 pages of colour photos, no indication of reprint (most likely the only edition), no names, faint dust top edge. Contents include: Intro / Headhunting Cannibals / Sago Eaters / Middlemen / Island Traders / Mountain Dwellers / Swamp Dwellers / Tamberan People / The Schouten Islanders & their Neighbors / The People of Vitiaz Strait / People of the Malagan / Fishermen and Traders / Art of New Guinea / Bibliography / Picture index. . First Royal Ontario Museum Edition . Hard Cover. Very Good Plus/No Jacket. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. (more information)

Offered by Nessa Books (Canada)

Toronto: Nartural Heritage Books , 2003. - Large format soft cover (not large print), 249 clean pages, "Catherine Slaney grew into womanhood unaware of her celebrated Black ancestors. An unanticipated meeting was to change her life. Her great-great grandfather was Dr. Anderson R. Abbott, the first Canadian-born Black to graduate from medical school in Toronto in 1861. In "Family Secrets" Catherine Slaney narrates her journey along the trail of her family tree, back through the era of slavery and the plight of fugitive slaves, the Civil War, the Elgin settement near Chatham, Ontario and the Chicago Years." Catherine Slaney signed on half-title page. Filled with photos. A tight clean and square first edition. Flat uncreased spine, Any image directly beside this listing is the actual book & not a stock photo!. Signed by Author. First Edition First Printing. Soft Cover. Near Fine/No Jacket as Issued. Illus. by Photos. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. (more information)

Offered by Nessa Books (Canada)

New York: Touchstone Books, 1994. -----Large format soft cover (not large print), 652 pages, with b & w photos, tight square and clean, no names. "On the Real Side is the first and only definitive history of African-American humor. with meticulous documentation. Watkins tells the public histoy, but he also uncovers the private,acerbic tradition that developed and remained underground for more than a century." Contents include: Intro / Prologue: Black Humor...what it is / Slavery.."don't nobody know my name but me" Minstrelsy...the die is cast / Black Minstrelsy to Vaudeville...black on black / Vaudeville & Early Twentieth-Century Black Humor...the blackening of America / Hollywood's Silent Years...the curse of a nation / The New Negro: Harlem and Hollywood...exotics, imposters, and other misshapen identities / Radio & Early Television...racial ventriloquy, black soaps & servants / Race Records and Black Films...sounds and visions in black and blue / The Theatre Owners Booking Association & the Apollo Theatre...changing the joke and slipping the yoke / Literary reflections of African-American Humor...depictions of things unseen / Folklore & Street Humor..."if you grinnin', you in 'em" / The New Comics...what you see is what you get / Pryor and thereafter...on the real side / Notes Bibiography / index. Any image directly beside this listing is the actual book and not a stock photo. First Edition 1st Printing. Soft Cover. Near Fine. Illus. by Cover photograph of Richard Pryor. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. (more information)

Offered by Nessa Books (Canada)