The Souls of Black Folk: Essays and Sketches
New York: A. C. McClurg & Co., 1903.
First edition, first printing. Bound in publisher's original black cloth ruled in blind and lettered in gilt. Near Fine with a large but faint stain to the front cover visible in raking light, light fading to spine and light wear to cloth. Hinges at the half-title page and endsheets are exposed leaving binding a little tender. Former owner name to front pastedown and effaced marking to front free endpaper. Faint stain to bottom textblock edge slightly intruding into the margins. A lovely copy, housed in a custom chemise case. In an effort to portray the genius and humanity of the black race, Du Bois published The Souls of Black Folk, a collection of 14 essays. James Weldon Johnson said the book's effect on African Americans was comparable to that of Uncle Tom's Cabin. The introduction famously proclaimed that "the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color line". Each chapter begins with two epigraphs – one from a white poet, and one from a black spiritual – to demonstrate intellectual and cultural parity between black and white cultures. A major theme of the work was the double consciousness faced by African Americans: being both American and black. This was a unique identity which, according to Du Bois, had been a handicap in the past, but could be a strength in the future: "Henceforth, the destiny of the race could be conceived as leading neither to assimilation nor separatism but to proud, enduring hyphenation."
Price: $20,000.00