The Official Central Avenue District Directory: A Business and Professional Guide
Los Angeles: The New Age Publishing Company, 1940.
November 1940 directory for the Central Avenue District in Los Angeles. 1-48, [2], 49-96 pp. Bound in publisher's printed yellow wraps, staple binding. Very Good with moderate wear, soiling, and fading to covers, hole punched through upper left corner, and clipped upper corner of front wrap. Contents lightly thumbed and toned, first line of "Important Numbers" page at rear filled out in pencil, occasional pencil notations to text. The business directory for what was then the heart of the African-American community in L.A. is packed with period advertising and includes lists of clubs, churches, and standing events. A double page map indicates points of interest, and a Who's Who provides the names and addresses of "individuals who are serving and building the district through the capacities in which they serve." Five pages feature the headshots and resumes of several Black actors of the time, including Cleo Desmond, Thaddeus Jones, Jesse A. Graves, Ernest Whitman, and Laura Bowman. Rare.
Price: $5,000