Category: Rare Books & Periodicals

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1860 How to Feed & Clothe Slaves (Debow’s Review-1860)

DeBow’s Review was the most widely circulated southern periodical during the mid-19th century. Before the Civil War, the magazine would recommend the “best practices” for making slavery profitable. In this collection, two issues are presented, May of 1860 and April of 1866. In this 1860 edition, under a section titled “PECULIARITIES AND DISEASES OF NEGROES” on p. 597-598 (click 2 graphics above), the author notes “In the diet and clothing, as well as in the houses of the negro, his feeble heat-generating powers should be strictly regarded….It has been before stated that the best food of this class fat bacon and pork, corn and peas, as these abound in oil which is a heat-generating element; while corn is also valuable as an element of strength and muscular growth. Besides these, negroes should be liberally supplied with garden vegetables, and with milk and molasses, occasionally, at least….What shall be done with the little “niggers” who are so prone to commence their depredations on the orchard while it is yet in the bud? I would suggest that the orchard be set some distance from the house, and that no negro, small or great, be allowed to visit it except one or two to bring supplies to the rest Continue reading “1860 How to Feed & Clothe Slaves (Debow’s Review-1860)”

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Slaves “Did Not Work So Hard…Had Advantages” According to History Textbook

This 1957 history textbook titled Cavalier Commonwealth–History and Government of Virginia was commissioned in 1950 by the Virginia General Assembly and describes the circumstances of the American slave as follows: “.. his condition had its advantages . . . he enjoyed long holidays . . . he did not work so hard as the average free laborer, since he did, not have to worry about losing his job. In fact, the slave enjoyed what we might call comprehensive social security. Generally speaking, his food was plentiful, his clothing adequate, his cabin warm, his health protected and his leisure carefree.”

See additional photos of textbook below.

See also “Happy Slaves” Described In 7th Grade Virginia Textbook Used for 20 Yrs.
See also 2016 GEOGRAPHY TEXTBOOK DEFINES SLAVES AS “IMMIGRANTS”

Continue reading “Slaves “Did Not Work So Hard…Had Advantages” According to History Textbook”
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“Happy Slaves” Described In 7th Grade Virginia Textbook Used for 20 Yrs.

Published in 1956 and used in Virginia classrooms through the late 1970’s, Virginia: History, Government, Geography by Francis B. Simkins and Spotswood H. Jones, and Sidman P. Poole describes the life of a Virginia slave as “happy”, “cheerful”, and “prosperous.”

“.…The Negroes learned also to enjoy the work and play of the plantations…Virginia offered a better life for the Negroes than did Africa…”

See also “Slaves Did Not Work So Hard…Had Advantages” According to History Textbook
See also 2016 GEOGRAPHY TEXTBOOK DEFINES SLAVES AS “IMMIGRANTS”

Continue reading ““Happy Slaves” Described In 7th Grade Virginia Textbook Used for 20 Yrs.”
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2016 GEOGRAPHY TEXTBOOK DEFINES SLAVES AS “IMMIGRANTS”

world geography2     worldgeography3   world geography1  In Chapter 5 titled “Patterns of Immigration”, this 2016 World Geography textbook from McGraw Hill says “The Atlantic Slave Trade between the 1500’s and 1800’s brought millions of workers from Africa to the southern United States to work on agricultural plantations.”  It also says “One of the defining attributes of the United States is that it is largely a country of immigrants and their descendants.  About 13 percent of people in the United States are foreign born, while Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians make up about 2 percent of the population.  The remaining population is descended from immigrants.”  Here is the story of how everything “hit the fan” when an African-American mother looked carefully at her son’s geography textbook…

See also “Happy Slaves” Described in 7th Grade Virginia Textbook Used for 20 Yrs.
See also “Slaves Did Not Work So Hard…Had Advantages” According to History Textbook

Continue reading “2016 GEOGRAPHY TEXTBOOK DEFINES SLAVES AS “IMMIGRANTS””

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KKK Magazine “Night Riders” about Viola Liuzzo murder

Possibly the most representative example of Klan propaganda, this may be the worst and most disgusting of the publications by the Klan/Citizens’ Councils.  Exploiting the murder of Viola Liuzzo, (a true hero of the Civil Rights Movement) by putting her body on the cover of their Klan “Night Riders” magazine as a trophy of their murderous efforts is about as low as it gets.

Continue reading “KKK Magazine “Night Riders” about Viola Liuzzo murder”
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8 SIGNATURES FROM THE LITTLE ROCK NINE

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This original LIFE Magazine shows the cover story of the Central High Crisis with signatures from eight of the Little Rock Nine (Carlotta Ray Karlmark has moved to Sweden).

The Little Rock Nine were a group of African American students enrolled in previously all-white Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school by Orval Faubus, the Governor of Arkansas. They then attended after the intervention of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Continue reading “8 SIGNATURES FROM THE LITTLE ROCK NINE”

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2 NEW SOUTH Magazines, 1958 and 1963

DSC08553December 1958 and May 1963 issues of “New South Magazine”.  All articles are concerning segregation.  Each magazine is 16 pages.

The best and most valuable part is a chart showing a CHRONOLOGICAL LISTING OF SOUTHERN BOMBINGS from January 1, 1956 to June 1st 1963 (59 of them).  See the photo of the listing of bombings; amazing detail (many names of who was bombed or whether they were white integrationists, pastors, etc.).

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Continue reading “2 NEW SOUTH Magazines, 1958 and 1963”

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6 TUSKEGEE AIRMEN SIGNATURES

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This Tuskegee Airmen book Lonely Eagles is signed by 6 Tuskegee Airmen, with at least 2 of them identifying themselves as being part of the famed 99th Fighter Squadron.  The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American military aviators in the United States armed forces. During World War II, Black Americans in many U.S. states were still subject to the Jim Crow laws and the American military was racially segregated Continue reading “6 TUSKEGEE AIRMEN SIGNATURES”

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19-Yr-Old Farrakhan In Jet Mag (1953)

It was only after reading through old Jet Magazines that I stumbled upon this March 5, 1955 Jet magazine with an article about 19-year-old Louis Walcott, who would become Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam. While Walcott would become a recording artist prior to becoming the protege of Malcolm X and fiery orator and leader of Boston’s mosque, his lasting fame would come as religious leader of the Nation of Islam (NOI).

Continue reading “19-Yr-Old Farrakhan In Jet Mag (1953)”

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SHUTTLESWORTH SIGNED BIOGRAPHY

DSC09420This is a biography of one of the legends  of the American Civil Rights Movement: Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth.  It is also signed by the author, Doug Ervin. Shuttlesworth was whipped with a chain for trying to enroll his children in a white school. He advertised that he was going to do it and knew he was going to suffer for it (his wife was also stabbed during the effort). His home was bombed with 16 sticks of dynamite by the KKK and he miraculously survived. Shuttlesworth invited Martin Luther King to Birmingham resulting in the climax of the Birmingham Civil Rights Movement. As a result, the 1964 Civil Rights Act can be attributed initially to HIS efforts.

DSC09422  shuttles2  tumblr_lsmaw9uCxf1qzrgbqo1_r2_500 Continue reading “SHUTTLESWORTH SIGNED BIOGRAPHY”

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1977 “ROOTS” TV MINISERIES COLLECTION

DSC08543This is a collection of 7 items from the 1977 groundbreaking miniseries “Roots”.  It includes the following:

  • –TV Guide (Jan 22-28 1977)
  • –Vinyl LP (still in shrinkwrap)
  • –Jet Magazine (January 27, 1977)
  • –Music Book (all about the music of “Roots”), includes poster (see photo of Kunta Kinte raising child to the heavens)
  • –Time Magazine (February 14, 1977), signed by Levar Burton
  • –Large publicity still from rebroadcast (Ed Asner and Levar Burton)
  • –Roots Magazine

Continue reading “1977 “ROOTS” TV MINISERIES COLLECTION”

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111 JET MAGAZINES FROM 1950’s & 1960’s

DSC00660This huge lot of 111 Jet Magazines is a fascinating time capsule taking you into all of the issues of the Black community before and during the Civil Rights Movement.  Note some of the cover stories: “BOYCOTT EXCLUSIVE: What’s Happening In Montgomery?, Will Bombs Keep Integration Out of Alabama?, Tenn. Negroes Who Must Vote In Tents Because They Voted, Will the Bates Be Forced To Quit Little Rock?, Parents: Unsung Heroes In School Integration Crisis, The Woman Who Tried To Kill King, The Girl Who Upset Alabama (Arthurine Lucy), Ambush Shooting of Meredith, Muhammad Ali’s Draft Dispute Continue reading “111 JET MAGAZINES FROM 1950’s & 1960’s”

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1955-1960 Emmett Till Jet Magazine Collection

Jet-Magazine-15sep55Many historians say that it was seeing the photos of Emmett Till’s mutilated body in THIS ISSUE (Sept 15, 1955) of Jet Magazine that sparked the Civil Rights Movement.  Rosa Parks said that she thought about going to the back of the bus, but when she thought about Emmett Till, she couldn’t do it (her refusal to give her seat to a white man occurred 95 days after Till’s death). The other 5 Jet Magazines in this collection show cover stories relating to Till’s death: “Will Mississippi Whitewash the Emmett Till Slaying?, Emmett Till’s Ghost Haunts Natchez, Where is Third Man in Till Lynching? How the Emmett Till Case Changed 5 Lives, Emmett Till’s Mother Starts a New Life.”  Continue reading “1955-1960 Emmett Till Jet Magazine Collection”

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DAISY BATES SIGNED 1ST ED. AUTOBIOGRAPHY

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This is a rare 1st Edition SIGNED copy of Daisy Bates’ autobiography The Long Shadow of Little Rock.  Just 5 years after the Little Rock Crisis, she writes “Especially for a freedom fighter.  May God keep you.  Daisy Bates Nov. 6, 1926 (she obviously meant 1962).  Ms. Bates passed away in 1999.  After the nine black students were selected to attend all-white Central High, Mrs. Daisy Bates would be with Continue reading “DAISY BATES SIGNED 1ST ED. AUTOBIOGRAPHY”

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1989 SIGNED RALPH ABERNATHY AUTOBIOGRAPHY

DSC08655 DSC08654This is an almost perfect 1st edition boldly SIGNED copy of Ralph Abernathy’s autobiography.  Ralph David Abernathy, Sr. (March 11, 1926 – April 17, 1990) was a leader of the American Civil Rights Movement, a minister, and the best friend of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. bayard_wide-5dbb299753fe1cf46f5162575eff3362b1cd3575Abernathy was also the organizer of the first mass meeting of the Montgomery Bus Boycott to protest Rosa Parks’ arrest on December 1, 1955. Abernathy and his friend Martin Luther King, Jr. organized the boycott and gave birth to the American Civil Rights Movement.  Following King’s assassination, Dr. Abernathy took up the leadership of the SCLC Poor People’s Campaign and led the March on Washington, D.C., that had been planned for May 1968.

 

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1991 SIGNED AUTOBIOGRAPHY–MOTHER OF VOTING RIGHTS MOVEMENT

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Click here to see signed photo of beating.

This is a SIGNED copy of Amelia Boynton Robinson’s autobiography Bridge Over Troubled Water.  Ms. Boynton Robinson personally invited Dr. King to Selma, Alabama and is considered the mother of the Voting Rights Movement.  She was famously beaten unconscious (photo went around the world) on the Edmund Pettus Bridge while marching for the right to vote. Continue reading “1991 SIGNED AUTOBIOGRAPHY–MOTHER OF VOTING RIGHTS MOVEMENT”

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1957 DAISY BATES SIGNED COVER LIFE MAGAZINE

The late Daisy Bates signed an almost-perfect copy of the Little Rock Nine edition of Life Magazine.

After the nine black students were selected to attend Central High Mrs. Daisy Bates would be with them every step of the way. Bates guided and advised the nine students, known as the Little Rock Nine, when they attempted to enroll in 1957 at Little Rock Central High School, a previously all-white institution. The students’ attempts to enroll provoked a confrontation with Governor Orval Faubus, who called out the National Guard to prevent their entry. White mobs met at the school and threatened to kill the black students; these mobs harassed not only activists but also northern journalists who came to cover the story.

Continue reading “1957 DAISY BATES SIGNED COVER LIFE MAGAZINE”
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1965 JOHN LEWIS SIGNED LIFE MAG

DSC08975DSC08976John Lewis (pictured at the front of the line on this cover) has boldly signed this March 19, 1965 LIFE Magazine that features the Selma, Alabama cover story of “Bloody Sunday”…when peaceful demonstrators were beaten on the Edmund Pettus Bridge by State Troopers.

The 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches, also known as “Bloody Sunday” and the two marches that followed, led to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, a landmark achievement of the 1960s American Civil Rights Movement. Continue reading “1965 JOHN LEWIS SIGNED LIFE MAG”

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1955 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF WHITE CIVIL RIGHTS MARTYR

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This is a rare 1st Edition hardcover of The Mind In Chains: the Autobiography of a Schizophrenic by William L. Moore.  William Lewis Moore (April 28, 1927 – April 23, 1963) was a postal worker and Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) member who staged lone protests against racial segregation. He was murdered on his final protest.  On April 23, 1963, about 70 miles (110 km) into a march, Moore was interviewed by Charlie Hicks, a reporter from radio station WGAD in Gadsden, Alabama, along a rural stretch of U.S. Highway 11 near Attalla, Alabama. The station had received an anonymous phone tip about Moore’s location Continue reading “1955 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF WHITE CIVIL RIGHTS MARTYR”

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4 “CRISIS” MAGS (NAACP) from 1955,1966 (2), & 1968

DSC00657These 4 Crisis Magazines are published by the NAACP and are from 1955, 1966 (2), and 1968.  These magazines are filled with articles and photos on the Civil Rights Movement and outstanding achievements of African-Americans.  Note the article (see photo) entitled “Again the Name Negro” and the photo of the burned-down house of NAACP leader Vernon Dahmer (see photo).

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Continue reading “4 “CRISIS” MAGS (NAACP) from 1955,1966 (2), & 1968″

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“Black In Selma”–Autographed and Inscribed

DSC09431Autobiography of J.L. Chestnut, one of the most interesting heroes of the Civil Rights Movement I have ever met (now deceased).  Mr. Chestnut has an amazing testimony of the Civil Rights Movement from the perspective of being a black lawyer in Selma, Alabama.  The anecdotes of what he witnessed (including the brutality of those beaten on the Edmund Pettus Bridge during “Bloody Sunday”) during the Civil Rights Movement makes this a must-have narrative in documenting the struggle. 

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Continue reading ““Black In Selma”–Autographed and Inscribed”

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3 CIVIL RIGHTS MAGAZINES

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This is the August 21, 1967 edition of Newsweek (with the cover story “The Black Mood“) and the March 5, 1965 edition of LIFE Magazine (with the cover story “A Monument to Negro Upheaval” about the death of Malcolm X and the “Resulting Vengeful Gang War”).  Also included is the August 22, 1966 edition of Newsweek with cover story “Black and White: A Major Survey of U.S. Racial Attitudes Today“; this issue addresses the racial turbulence that defined 1966.

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1st Ed. “Psalms From Prison” SIGNED by Benjamin Chavis, INSCRIBED to Walter Fauntroy

DSC08674This 1983 1st Edition Hardback copy of “Psalms From Prison” by Benjamin E. Chavis Jr. is in MINT condition.  The book is signed and inscribed to Walter Fauntroy who was the first non-voting member of Congress from Washington, D.C. and has been a highly active Civil Rights leader.

DSC08671 Continue reading “1st Ed. “Psalms From Prison” SIGNED by Benjamin Chavis, INSCRIBED to Walter Fauntroy”

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1965 KLAN TRIAL (LIFE MAGAZINE)

DSC06713This is the complete Life Magazine from May 21, 1965 with the cover story “Courtroom pictures of the Klan Murder Trial: Defense Lawyer Matt Murphy’s victory sign”. Matt Murphy was the Klan attorney.

The following, about the trial (but not in the magazine), is VERY interesting…

Twice frustrated in attempts to convict Collie Leroy Wilkins for the murder of Viola Liuzzo, federal prosecutors successfully prosecuted Wilkins with an 1870 law for depriving Liuzzo of her civil rights.

On March 25, 1965, thousands of civil rights marchers converged on the Alabama state capitol in Montgomery, demanding an end to obstacles to black voter registration. The day of speeches ended Continue reading “1965 KLAN TRIAL (LIFE MAGAZINE)”

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BOMBING in Birmingham–1963 Newsweek, Near MINT

DSC08563Cleanest copy you will ever see of the September 30, 1963 Newsweek with the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama on the cover.  Inside is an excellent article with great photographs entitled “Birmingham: My God, you’re not even safe in church!”  A great time capsule.

Beside the magazine’s fantastic condition, it DOES NOT HAVE A MAILING LABEL.  It is as if it is fresh off the newsstand.

DSC08564 Continue reading “BOMBING in Birmingham–1963 Newsweek, Near MINT”

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1963 LIFE MAG (MEDGAR EVERS FUNERAL)

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Heartbreaking Life Magazine from the funeral of Medgar Evers, June 28, 1963.  Magazine is in fantastic condition.
Medgar Wiley Evers (July 2, 1925 – June 12, 1963) was an African-American civil rights activist from Mississippi involved in efforts to overturn segregation at the University of Mississippi. After returning from overseas military service in World War II and completing his secondary education, he became active in the civil rights movement. He became a field secretary for the NAACP.  Evers was assassinated by Byron De La Beckwith, a member of the White Citizens’ Council. As a veteran, Evers was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. His murder and the resulting trials inspired civil rights protests, as well as numerous works of art, music, and film.Medgar_Evers Continue reading “1963 LIFE MAG (MEDGAR EVERS FUNERAL)”

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Mississippi Summer-1964 Newsweek, Near MINT Condition

DSC08544Cleanest copy you will ever see of the July 13, 1964 Newsweek with “Mississippi Summer 1964” on the cover.  Inside is an excellent article with great photos.  Inside, “Troubled State, Troubled Time.”  A great time capsule.  You’ll find coverage of the voting drive, the murder of Schwermer, Chaney, and Goodman, the police, civil rights, and more.

Besides the magazine’s fantastic condition, it DOES NOT HAVE a mailing label.   It’s as if it is fresh off the newsstand after exactly 50 years. Continue reading “Mississippi Summer-1964 Newsweek, Near MINT Condition”

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Book Requested By King (while in Birmingham jail)

DSC08642This is a hardcover copy (with dust jacket) of one of the 6 books (2 being dictionaries) that Martin Luther King asked his wife Coretta to bring while he was incarcerated in Birmingham jail in April of 1963.0001676b10dr1

Here is the content of the first letter to his wife Coretta…

“Today I find myself a long way from you and the children…I know this whole Continue reading “Book Requested By King (while in Birmingham jail)”

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1955 “WHAT’S AHEAD FOR THE NEGRO UNDER DESEGREGATION”

DSC00722DSC00721This January 1955 edition of “The National Police Gazette” has a photo of Rocky Marciano with the cover story “What’s Ahead for the Negro Under Desegregation”.  This was 8 months after the “Great Decision”–1954’s Brown Vs. Board of Education establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional.