ALL ABOUT LITTLE BLACK SAMBO

New York: Cupples & Leon Company, 1917. Hardcover. Good Plus in Good Dustjacket. John B, Gruell. 24mo. Beige paper over boards (5 1/2 in. x 4 1/2 in.). Brown lettering, and brown frame with small black child with blue pants, red jacket and green umbrella against a yellow backdrop with knee-high pink flowers Light shelfwear and a bit of rubbing to extremities. Previous owner's gift inscription to front free endpaper. Eight lovely colored pictures and numerous black and white drawings. Quite rare in Dustjacket. Dustjacket shows Sambo and his father (Black Jumbo) within a large white circle, with white raindrops against a blue backdrop, and red lettering within several additional white circles. A few small chips to dustjacket (corners and top/bottom of spine) and general staining/spotting, with tidelines and a few closed tears. This is Number 8 in the All About/Books for Young Children Series issued by Cupples & Leon, which at book's publication in 1917, sold for 35¢. Rare in jacket. "Bannerman presented one of the first black heroes in children's literature and regarded the book as positively portraying black characters in both the text and pictures, especially in comparison to books of that era that depicted black people as simple and uncivilized.However, it became an object of allegations of racism in the mid-20th century due to the names of the characters being racial slurs for dark-skinned people, and the fact that the illustrations were, as Langston Hughes expressed it, in the pickaninny style. In more recent editions, both text and illustrations have undergone considerable revision..." (Wikipedia)

The book's original illustrations were created by the author and were simple in style, and depicted Sambo as a Southern Indian or Tamil child. Little Black Sambo's success led to many counterfeit, inexpensive, easily available versions that incorporated popular stereotypes of "black" peoples. One example was a 1908 edition illustrated by John R. Neill, best known for his illustration of the Oz books by L. Frank Baum.[4] In 1932, Langston Hughes criticised Little Black Sambo as a typical "pickaninny" storybook which was hurtful to black children, and gradually the book disappeared from lists of recommended stories for children.