The Harlem Book of the Dead

by James Van Der Zee, Owen Dodson, and Camille Billops

foreword by Toni Morrison 

First edition.  Dobbs Ferry, NY:  Morgan & Morgan, 1978  

Softback is overall in VERY GOOD condition.

• Illlustrated wraps are mostly clean, with sepia text and photo illustration. 
• Wraps show some edgewear, a scratch to the back cover.  Corners are softened.  See photos. 
• Spine has sepia text and is bright with bumped ends.
• Binding is secure. 
• End papers show little sign of age or wear.
• Illustrations are bright and clear.  
• Interior is gently age-toned.  Inside pages are free of writing and intentional marks.
• Text block edges are foxed.  See photos. 
• PS2025.0702

85 pages. 9 x 10.5 inches

ISBN:  0-87100-152-7

A Very Good copy of this now uncommon book that records death and the rituals surrounding it.  Photo-illustrated wraps printed in sepia are very good, with a scratch visible to the back cover.  The interior is a little toned, with generously sized photographs and very readable text.

The photographs by James Van Der Zee (1886-1983), together with poetry by Owen Dodson and the conversational text captured by Camille Billops, "reveal the history of a time in Harlem, now past, when society cared for both the living and the dead, the belief that we must preserve a standard of pride representing order high in spiritual and temporal values."  The setting is Harlem, but stress is laid on the universality of human experience.   

Please see photos. More photos available upon request.

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