Uncle Remus, His Songs and His Sayings: The Folk-Lore of the Old Plantation

New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1881. First Edition. Blanck's first state, with "presumptive" on last line of p.9, and ads on p.[233] beginning with New Books: A Treatise on the Practice of Medicine. Octavo (19.75cm); publisher's powder blue cloth, with titling and decorations stamped in gilt and black on spine and front cover; butterfly-patterned endpapers; [3],4-231,[1] + [8]pp ads. Armorial bookplate of real estate magnate and art collector Edward Hubbard Litchfield (1845-1930) mounted to front pastedown. Spine ends gently nudged, some softening to corners (though still sharp), with a hint of sunning to spine and some light dust-soil to extremities; contents clean, with hinges sound; Very Good+, with bright gilt and the pictorial elements unrubbed. Housed in a custom slipcase and chemise.

Uncle Remus was among the most significant collections of African American folklore, recorded by Harris (1848-1908), a white, Georgia-born author and journalist. "Harris was not the first to record the stories of Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear, which he heard in the cabins of slaves on Georgia plantations, but his retellings made them a favorite with American children...The book contains thirty-four "Legends of the Old Plantation," as well as "Plantation Proverbs," songs and chants under the title "His Songs," and a series of sketches about Uncle Remus, the African American narrator, entitled "His Sayings" (Grolier, One Hundred Books Famous in Children's Literature, 42). BLOCKSON 42; BAL 7100; JOHNSON, p.36.