Civil Rights - Racial Discrimination in Construction in Baltimore During the 1970s

Employment Discrimination in the Construction Industry in Baltimore.
Washington DC: U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 1974.

A Report of the Maryland State Advisory Committee to the US Commission on Civil Rights prepared for the information and consideration of the Commission. A study of discrimination based on race within various trades such as electrician, carpenter, roofer, painter, plumber, welder. Numbers of union and non-union workers in these (and additional) trades are listed including minority and non-minority workers. Quotes from multiple minority workers about their personal experiences with inequality in hiring / training / jobs are included. An interesting study made during an important time of Civil Rights in our country. It seems that despite federal laws, there was still a large disadvantage for minorities seeking employment in construction trades in Baltimore. At the end of the end of the study data, there is a chapter on "recommendations" and several appendices including follow-up letters from attorneys representing African Americans, letters from government officials, updates on following up with individual construction agencies, etc.

Side stapled yellow paper wrappers (not actually purple as our scan would suggest) with black title to front panel. Light soiling / browning to edges of wrappers, but clean and bright overall. 59 pages. (#33800)

Price: $30

An Artists' Book - Celebrating the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Letterpress Printed from Wooden Type

[Abstract Orange]
Emeritz, Lauren, book artist.
Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Washington DC: Abstract Orange, 2024.

Number 4 of 20 copies signed and numbered by the book artist. Lauren Emeritz is a book artist, letterpress printer and graphic artist who founded and runs Abstract Orange. She creates prints and books by hand using a Vandercook press and wood type, including type she designs and carves herself. Lauren holds a BFA in Graphic Design from the University of Delaware. She is the President and Creative Director of Abstract Orange, a graphic design firm in Washington, DC, and a letterpress associate at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center in Hyattsville, Maryland. Her work can be found in many institutional and private collections.

This is another powerful work by Lauren in which she addresses social and political issues and events. It is based on the United States Civil Rights Act of 1964. The book has a series of 10 sheets of brown cardboard paper, each with text from provisions of the Act printed in green from hand-carved wood letters of the alphabet. The texts include "equal access to public accommodations," "access to public education," "expand civil rights commission," "equal employment opportunities, " and more. The ten sheets are housed in a bright green paper folder with the title printed in darker green on the cover and a velcro closure. In fine condition. Measures 7 x 11 inches. (#37259)

Price: $1,200

Civil Rights Movement
James Baldwin's Powerful Text Paired with Steve Schapiro's Potent Images
Letterpress Printed and Signed by Photographer - Collector's Edition

Baldwin, James; Steve Schapiro, photographs; John Lewis, introduction; Gloria Karefa-Smart, afterword.
The Fire Next Time.
Taschen, 2017.

Number 1641 of 1963 copies signed by the photographer. This is the collector's edition with each copy printed in letterpress and signed by Steve Schapiro (1934 - 2022). Winner of the 2017 Lucie Award, Book Publisher of the Year for a Limited Edition. In their review of this powerful and troubling book, The American Institute of Architects and Amazon described it: "First published in 1963, James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time stabbed at the heart of America's so-called Negro problem. As remarkable for its masterful prose as for its frank and personal account of the black experience in the United States, it is considered one of the most passionate and influential explorations of 1960s race relations, weaving thematic threads of love, faith, and family into a candid assault on the hypocrisy of the land of the free. Now, James Baldwin 's rich, raw, and ever relevant prose is reprinted with more than 100 black and white and color photographs from Steve Schapiro, who traveled the American South with Baldwin for Life magazine. The encounter thrust Schapiro into the thick of the movement, allowing for vital, often iconic, images both of civil rights leaders including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Fred Shuttlesworth, and Jerome Smith and such landmark events as the March on Washington and the Selma march. Rounding out the edition are Schapiro 's stories from the field, an original introduction by civil rights legend and U.S. Congressman John Lewis, captions by journalist Marcia Davis, and an essay by Gloria Baldwin Karefa-Smart, who was with her brother James in Sierra Leone when he started to work on the story. The result is a remarkable visual and textual record of one of the most important and enduring struggles of the American experience." Writes the publisher: "All the grief, grit, and unassailable dignity of the civil rights movement are evoked in this letterpress edition of James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time, illustrated with photographs by Steve Schapiro. Together, Baldwin’s frank account of the black experience and Schapiro’s vital images offer poetic and potent testimony to one of the most important struggles of American society."

Bound in red paper covered boards with images of marchers affixed to the front and back covers and with a black and red title label to spine. The book was published with two different paper stocks and includes tip-ins such as a reproduction of the Time magazine issue of May 17, 1963 with James Baldwin on the cover. Housed in a brown cardboard slip case with black and red title sheet affixed to one side and spine, and images of marchers on the other. In fine condition. Measures 9.4 x 13.4 inches. 272 pages. (#37589)

Price: $700

African American Representatives in the 1980 Democratic Convention

Joint Center for Political Studies.
Black Politics 1980: A Guide to the Democratic National Convention. New York City, New York August 11 - 14, 1980.
Washington DC: Joint Center for Political Studies, 1980.

Arranged in three parts including: convention information 1980, blacks in the convention (specifically democrats), and the black vote - in perspective with additional tables on black voting age and population. A similar guide was created for the Republican National Convention. This was the third year / time that such a guidebook was created.

Very good in white side-stapled paper wrappers with black title to front cover. A few creases to corners and minor soiling / rubbing to rear cover. Interior is clean and bright. 90 pages. (#28592)

Price: $25

Civil Rights - Martin Luther King Jr. and Leading Scholars Converse
First Edition

[King, Martin Luther Jr.] Peter J. Albert and Ronald Hoffman (editors); Robert Moses, Nathan Huggins, John Hope Franklin, et. al.
We Shall Overcome: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Black Freedom Struggle.
Pantheon Books, 1990.

First Edition. In this book "America's leading scholars and activists from the civil rights years speak on a fascinating range of experiences surrounding King and his era, from his early personal religious conversion to his impact on the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa; from his place in history of the African-American church to the rise in Third World liberation struggles" (jacket).

Blue cloth spine over white speckled paper covered boards with gilt title to spine. In off-white jacket with light blue spine panel titled in dark blue and red. Minor chipping and wear to edges of jacket and hinges. Clean interior. 294 pages. Fine / Fine. (#35010)

Price: $25

12 Authors Write on Race in U.S. Foreign Policy Since WWII

Krenn, Michael, ed.
The African American Voice in U.S. Foreign Policy since World War II. Vol 5 of 5.
Garland Publishing, Inc., 1998.

Michael Krenn is a professor of history and the chair of the department at Appalachian State University. According to his statement on the university's website, "The study of U.S. diplomatic history, particularly when it focuses on issues such as race and culture, forces us to consider the interconnections between domestic and international forces in the construction of the nation's diplomacy. It allows us to see how domestic forces and issues impact America's relations abroad while simultaneously enabling us to understand the influence exerted on the domestic scene by foreign policy initiatives."

This book is Volume 5 of his 5-volume series "Race and U.S. Foreign Policy From the Colonial Period to the Present". Includes contributions from 12 different authors. Scarce. Octavo. Blue cloth covered boards with gilt title to spine. 302 pages. Fine. (#1496)

Price: $75

13 Authors Write on Race in U.S. Foreign Policy from Colonial Times Through 1850

Krenn, Michael, ed.
Race and U.S. Foreign Policy from Colonial Times through the Age of Jackson. Vol 1 of 5.
New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1998.

Michael Krenn is a professor of history and the chair of the department at Appalachian State University. According to his statement on the university's website, "The study of U.S. diplomatic history, particularly when it focuses on issues such as race and culture, forces us to consider the interconnections between domestic and international forces in the construction of the nation's diplomacy. It allows us to see how domestic forces and issues impact America's relations abroad while simultaneously enabling us to understand the influence exerted on the domestic scene by foreign policy initiatives."

This book is Volume 1 of his 5-volume series "Race and U.S. Foreign Policy From the Colonial Period to the Present". Includes contributions from 13 different authors. Scarce. Octavo. Blue cloth covered boards with gilt title to spine. Small smudge to front cover. 368 pages. Fine. (#1499)

Price: $75

Bibliography of African American Related Books - focus on period between 1954 - 1965

Miller, Elizabeth W.; Thomas F. Pettigrew, foreword.
The Negro in America: A Bibliography.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1966.

The sixth printing issued in 1969 of this "important and overdue contribution to the understanding of American race relations" (foreword). Most of the works included in the bibliography concentrate on works appearing between 1954 with the Supreme Court's decision that school segregation was unconstitutional, and the Voting Rights Act in 1965. Some older sources are included if they appeared useful. The bibliography is arranged by background, social institutions, health, literature, intergroup relations, rural and urban problems, education, civil rights and many more. With an index of authors.

Softcover with cream paper covers with titling in black. Small stain to top edge of pages and slight signs of handling but in very good condition. 190 pages. (#34694)

Price: $15

Unique Artists' Book on Racial Strife and Justice

Satin, Claire Jeanine.
KCALB BOOK.
Dania Beach, FL: Claire Jeanine Satin, 2021.

One of three copies. An important artists' book from Claire Jeanine Satin, a well known book artist, sculptor and designer of public art installations. Satin's work has been extensively exhibited and collected in the United States and in Europe, including at The Library of Congress, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, The Getty (CA), MOMA, The Victoria and Albert Museum, and the National Institute of Design (India). She has created more than 500 bookworks to date. She is known especially for her conceptual works influenced by the ideas of composer/visual artist John Cage, and the conversion of ordinary industrial materials into environmental constructions and book works of layered transparent mass.

This work from Claire beautifully exemplifies this conceptual approach to creating her books. The KCALB BOOK is both intricate in its structure and compelling in its message about racial strife and justice. The book is comprised of five words taken from the word Black. The words are: Killing Corrupt Assault Lynch Brutal, and each chosen word is placed vertically and backward in the book and printed in black in various fonts on acetate pages. The words can be viewed individually or simultaneously as they may occur in real life. The clear acetate pages have applied red acetate pieces that are shaped like petals and refer to the blood spilled on the Pettus Bridge during the original demonstration led by the late civil rights leader John Lewis in 1965. The red "petals" also reference the tears shed when John Lewis’s body was carried over the bridge by a carriage during his funeral in 2020. Claire's book is both an homage to John Lewis and a stark reminder of how much more needs to be done to achieve civil rights and equality for all. The book includes jet beads and monofilaments that are two of Claire's signature designs in her work. She has signed and dated a small acetate tag attached to one of the monofilaments. In fine condition. Measures  8.5 x 12 inches. Held in a black gauze drawstring bag. (#35412)

Price: $1,200

Chicago Urban League

Strickland, Arvarh E.
History of the Chicago Urban League.
Urbana and London: University of Illinois Press, 1966.

First Edition. "The author traces the development of the Chicago Urban League through various socio-economic upheavals of this century and describes its services to the Negro community strongly affected by these events. He also examines the social work methods of the League, its sources of financial support over the years, ...." (jacket flap).

Green cloth boards with black title to spine and front cover. Clean and bright. In olive green dust jacket with white title to spine panel. Jacket is price-clipped. It is in a removable mylar cover. Very light wear to edges of jacket. 286 pages. Fine / Near Fine. (#34977)

Price: $25

Abolitionist Work by John Woolman
A Unique Copy - Bound by Arnon Werner - with his bookplate
Gehenna Press with Leonard Baskin Illustrations

[The Gehenna Press]
Woolman, John; Leonard Baskin, illustrator; Frederick Tolles, afterword.
Some Considerations on the Keeping of Negros. Recommended to the Professors of Christianity of Every Denomination.
Northampton, MA: The Gehenna Press, 1970. 

One of 250 numbered copies, with a signed linocut portrait of Woolman by Leonard Baskin on the title page and an additional copy of the portrait on Japanese paper, also signed, is laid in. The portrait is based on a drawing done from memory by Robert Smith III. This edition was printed at The Gehenna Press to memorialize the bicentennial of John Woolman's death in 1772. This is a reprint of Woolman's book that was first published by James Chattin in Philadelphia in 1754. Woolman was a Quaker who advocated the abolition of slavery.

This copy is unique in that it was personally bound by master binder Arnon Werner for himself, with his label affixed to the front pastedown bearing his initials and his name written there in ink. His beautiful binding is in full brown morocco, with titling in gilt to cover and spine, with blind and gilt rules, and turn-in gilt with an oakleaf roll design. Arno Werner (1899-1995), was a German-born bookbinder who was credited with keeping the craft alive in the United States, His work, often executed in painstakingly hand-tooled morocco leather, was marked by a sturdy yet elegant simplicity. Until 1982 he was chief bookbinder for rare editions at the Houghton Library at Harvard University. A modest man, he quietly spent years working 12-hour days, doing good work, and training fine young people to carry on the craft. His emotional and financial support of former apprentices is legendary.

Printed in Centaur and Arrighi types on Fabriano paper, and printed by master pressman Harold McGrath. With marbled endpapers by Arno Werner. The text was completed in 1970 but the afterword by Frederick Tolles was not printed until 1975. Housed in a brown cloth clamshell box with a leather spine with gilt titling. The box is also lined with Werner's marbled papers and has his label with his initials. Inside the box is a letter dated March 1985 to David Block of The Book Block from Bromer Bookselllers saying that they would hold a copy of the Baskin Woolman print for ten days. In fine condition in a near fine clamshell box. Measures 5.5 x 8 inches. 85 pages plus 6 pages printed on blue paper with an afterword on Woolman and slavery. (#37512)

Price: $2,000

Scholarly Periodical on Issues Relating to Negros - from 1930s
In This Issue: Negro Farmers, Economic Policies, Negro Education, Negro Authors, and More

Various [Charles H. Thompson, editor-in-chief].
The Journal of Negro Education. A Quarterly Review of Problems Incident to the Education of Negroes. Volume V, Nos. 1-4.
Washington DC: Howard University, College of Education, 1936.

FROM THE JNE WEBSITE: "The Journal of Negro Education (JNE), a refereed scholarly periodical, was founded at Howard University in 1932 to fill the need for a scholarly journal that would identify and define the problems that characterized the education of Black people in the United States and elsewhere, provide a forum for analysis and solutions, and serve as a vehicle for sharing statistics and research on a national basis. JNE sustains a commitment to a threefold mission: first, to stimulate the collection and facilitate the dissemination of facts about the education of Black people; second, to present discussions involving critical appraisals of the proposals and practices relating to the education of Black people; and third, to stimulate and sponsor investigations of issues incident to the education of Black people."

The journal has been in continuous publication by Howard University since 1932, when it was founded by Charles H. Thompson. This is VOLUME V, a very early publication. Early volumes are very scarce outside of libraries. Includes articles by A. Philip Randolph, Ralph J. Bunche, Norman Thomas, W.E.B. Du Bois, D.O.W. Holmes, Kelly Miller, Frederick D. Patterson, and N.C. Newbold. No. 1 focuses on the economic crisis of the Negro in American, including discussions of the New Deal, Negro farmers, Negro industrial workers, the union movement, social and unemployment insurance, and socialism. No. 2 is primarily about intelligence, including IQ. No. 3 highlights the reorganization of Negro education, including at the college level. No. 4 includes an appraisal of Booker T. Washington by Emmett J. Scott.

Octavo. Bound in green cloth boards with gilt title to spine. Sunning to spine. Pages are yellowed but clean. Ex-library with stamp to title page from Saint Joseph Society Library, Baltimore. Additional library stamps on a few pages. 681 pages, including index. Very Good. (#37240)

Price: $75

The Black Experience During WWII and the Korean War

Walker, Wilbert L.
We Are Men. Memoirs of World War II and The Korean War.
Baltimore: Heritage Press, (1972).

SCARCE. "My experiences in the Navy were shared by untold thousands of black men and women during WWII. Indeed, segregation and discrimination was practiced widely in military and civilian life. Despite these barriers, we were willing to do our part to defeat the enemies of democracy. Much of my energy, however, was devoted to fighting these undemocratic practices" (jacket). William L. Walker holds degrees from Morgan State University and Howard University. He served in WWII as an aviation metalsmith, and as first lieutenant in the Korean War, he won the Combat Infantryman badge. He has authored several books and spent many years as a social worker.

8vo. Very good in blue cloth covered boards with gilt title to front board and to spine. Pristine interior. White dust jacket with blue title to front and spine panels. Slight rubbing and edgewear to dust jacket. 129 pages. World War II. (#1684)

Price: $25

Loss in America - Slavery, Racism, Plunder of the Land ...
A Unique Artists' Book - Pen and Ink Drawings with an Original Musical Score (on included CD)

Williams, Thomas Parker, artist.
Paradise Lost.
Philadelphia: Thomas Parker Williams, 2019.

A unique artist's book from noted book artist Thomas Parker Williams signed and dated by him. Williams began creating artists' books in 1998 while also painting. As of 2009 he has limited his art practice exclusively to artists' books. He often creates videos and composes music to accompany his books that may be found on his website (www.thomasparkerwilliams.com). Books by Williams or the Luminice Press imprint under which he and his wife Mary Agnes Williams issue books, may be found in over 70 public collections around the country including the Watson Library at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Paradise Lost is a compelling wordless narrative accompanied by original music that explores variations of loss in America, over time and in the present. Williams describes the meaning of his book in a passionate statement: "Starting with the forests where native peoples lived before Columbus, the book follows slavery as Africans are captured and forced to work on plantations owned by wealthy white men. Although many landowners lost their way of life after the Civil War, the anonymous power figures did not die, and continue to crush black, brown and white workers and families who are expendable. Finally, as we confront the reality of climate change, even the Earth itself is expendable. In the past four years America has further revealed its dark side. Blatant racism against black, brown and Asian citizens has become almost normal. However most of the perpetrators of these acts fail to realize that they are just pawns of the real power figures who care nothing for them and will throw them away when they are no longer needed....If America, or for that matter the rest of the world, ever wants to find 'paradise' again, we must realize that resources will have to be shared and all people will have to be respected. Otherwise, our lives will be enmeshed in constant conflict that will benefit no one except the anonymous power figures."

The book is held in a custom hinged wood container with the title on a copper plate affixed to the cover. It measures 8.25 x 15.5 x 2 inches. There are 20 original black and white ink drawings that trace the history of the enslavement and misery imposed on indigenous peoples since their paradise was discovered centuries ago. There are mysterious figures on several of the drawings that represent the anonymous power figures. The drawings are done on 20 sheets of Twinrocker Da Vici Heavy Text handmade paper. The book is accordion bound, with each sheet measuring 7 x 14.75 inches that extend to 295 inches when the sheets are unfurled. There are two discs in envelopes affixed to a black paper cover: a DVD of the book's video and music made by the artist to accompany the book, as well as a CD of the music only. This original music was composed, performed and recorded by the artist. Housed in a custom clamshell gray cloth box. In fine condition. (#36570)

Price: $9,500

Story of the Civil Rights Movement

Young, Andrew.
An Easy Burden: The Civil Rights Movement and the Transformation of America (1st Edition).
New York: Harper Collins, 1996.

"A book of exceptional power, drama, and immediacy, it offers those who lived through it, those who remember it, and those who weren't yet born the true story of the civil rights movement, as only Andrew Young can tell it" (jacket).

Black cloth backed black paper covered boards with gilt title to spine. With photographic illustrations. Clean, bright interior. In a black dust jacket with red title to front and spine panels. Light wear and rubbing to edges and panels of jacket. A thick 8vo. 550 pages. Very Good in Very Good Dust Jacket. (#12814)

Price: $25