BLACK BOY A RECORD OF CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH

Book Description

New York: Harper & Bros., [1945].. [8],3-228 quarto leaves, printed on rectos only. Original letter press page proofs. General light use to early and later leaves, with a few small marginal chips and creases to final leaf in no way affecting the text, but very good. Enclosed in a custom half morocco clamshell case. The manufacturer's file set of the corrected page proofs, marked final, and duplicate proof, with H. Wolff Book Mfg. Co's dated stamp: "Sep 21 1944." Indicative of finalization of the makeup, the matter on the copyright page has been revised in pencil, and the quotation from Job has been inserted as a pasteover on the half-title. Significantly, the blank coverleaf bears some notations, including the discarding of the title, AMERICAN HUNGER, for BLACK BOY, reflecting the complicated history of the two different texts. While there is no doubt that several copies of the text in this form must have been circulated at the time, particularly as the book was a Book of the Month Club offering, the most common format for reviewers of this title was in the form of unbound, printed signatures. This set of page proofs precedes that format, and offers an appealing, "in house" provenance as well.

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