Books

1940. New York & London: Harper and Brothers Publisher's, 1940. 8vo, xi, 359 pp. Ttitle-page printed in red and black. Original dark blue cloth with lettering in red, price-clipped jacket with moderate wear and chipping and some old tape repairs, protected by mylar. § First edition, first printing with publisher's A-P code on the copyright page; first state dust-jacket with no blurb on the spine. A milestone in 20th century literature. As Irving Howe wrote in his 1963 essay "Black Boys and Native Sons": "The day Native Son appeared, American culture was changed forever. No matter how much qualifying the book might later need, it made impossible a repetition of the old lies ... [and] brought out into the open, as no one ever had before, the hatred, fear, and violence that have crippled and may yet destroy our culture." Over 250,000 copies were sold in the first few weeks; the first issue (as here) is very scarce in any condition. Blockson 76: "Native Son ranks with such…

A groundbreaking novel that tells the story of a young African American man living in poverty in Chicago, dealing with racial discrimination and systemic oppression.