Kelly Miller's Authentic History of the Negro in the World War Being an Intensely Human and Brilliant Account of the World War and Why and For What Purpose America and the Allies are Fighting and the Important Part Taken by the Negro...

Washington, DC: Austin Jenkins Co., Manufacturing Publishers of High Grade Subscription Books, 1920. Very good.. Irregularly paginated with a selection of the published text, along with numerous plates and unused subscription leaves at the end of the text. Original blue cloth decoratively stamped in red, grey, and black on the front cover, with additional flap attached to the front fore-edge which folds inward, showing the intended spine of the book. Light wear and soiling, corners and spine ends rubbed. Title page with slight tear in gutter margin, some minor scattered soiling to text, light staining to outer margin of last few leaves. About very good, but binding unusually bright and square. A handsome salesman's sample book for Kelly Miller's "Intensely Human and Brilliant Account of the World War and Why and For What Purpose America and the Allies Are Fighting and the Important Part Taken by the Negro." As with similar salesman's "dummies," the work contains a selection of text including the table of contents, numerous illustrated and photographic plates (in various tints and with some in color) intended to appear in the final published work, and a section for subscribers to fill in orders (blank here). The latter includes a page of text detailing the composition of the intended final published text, with a chapter list, text about the "Great Historical Value" of the book, a short biography of the author, and details about three different editions available to buyers: "Library" (bound in "Rich red morocco" with sixteen color plates, priced $3,50), "Popular" ("Vellum de Luxe cloth," also with sixteen plates, priced $2.75) and the "Million" edition ("Cloth binding without color plates," priced $2.50). The author, himself African American, was the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Howard University. A particularly bright example of an informative and visually-rich salesman's sample book for a noted African-American publication celebrating the service of Black troops in the Great War.