The Industrial History of the Negro Race of the United States

Richmond, Va: Presses of the Virginia Press, 1908. Very good plus.. 400pp., including scores of photographic plates and illustrations within the text. Publisher's light blue cloth stamped in black. Minor wear and rubbing to boards. A profusely-illustrated historical treatment of African American industrial history intended as a textbook for teaching Black youth. The authors, Giles B. Jackson and D. Webster Davis (who are featured in the photographic frontispiece), write in their Preface that "Every rave has its history written by its own members. This, to our mind, is a special reason why the Negro should have a history of himself, written by members of his own race, and that history should be taught in the schools of the youth of the race." They argue that the history of African Americans "can be best gleaned from his industrial progress...showing the strides made by the race along industrial lines." The work is comprised of chapters on the early history of African Americans, the introduction and proliferation of African slavery to the U.S., African Americans in military service, and much more. The work is interspersed throughout with monochrome photographs of prominent African American figures, historic and educational sites, products, technology, and other works of art produced by African Americans, and more.