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Measuring 6.75 inches wide x 8 inches long, the book is illustrated in both black silhouette and colored, line drawings. 16 pages long. Great condition-- tight binding, no tips or missing pages, clean. Cloth-bound hard covers.
A delightful addition to one's Black Memorabilia collector!!
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The now empty tin features the Banania brand trademark graphic of a smiling Blackamoor.
Condition is all-original with some wear to tin from use as seen in photos. Light superficial rusting present here and there that does not affect tin integrity and is mostly noted on interior surfaces.
This tin is widely reproduced today, with the original tin very, very difficult to find. A fabulous opportunity to add an authentic vintage BANANIA collectible to one's Black Memorabilia collection!
***Please view the smaller, vintage, BANANIA tin currently available as well as an exceedingly rare, vintage, Banania dexterity puzzle***.
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In utterly excellent condition with the only flaws noted being subtle wear to the paper dust jacket and a past owner's name and address, this version of the Little Black Sambo story is highly collectible as any item produced by its publisher, Platt & Munk, is aggressively sought-after due to the company’s reputation for use of extraordinarily vivid graphics.
This mini book is sixty-two pages long with 29 vividly colored illustrations designed and executed by the author, Frank Ver Beck.
A must have edition for the collector of Little Black Sambo books!
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It has been noted that their creation was encouraged through President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Depression era program, the Work Projects Administration (WPA), in existence from 1935-1943. The WPA was designed to provide jobs across the country during the Great Depression. While most jobs were in construction and infrastructure, the most well-known project arm of the WPA, known as Federal Project Number One, employed musicians, artists, writers, actors and directors in arts, drama, media, and literacy projects. The five projects assigned to this consortium were: the Federal Writers’ Project (FWP), the Historical Records Survey (HRS), the Federal Theatre Project (FTP), the Federal Music Project (FMP), and the Federal Art Project (FAP). The creation of these dolls fell under the WPA Federal Art Project, with the goal of representing the various aspects of the culture, work and lives of the Southern black community of this time period.
The doll clad in all black depicts the VERY rarely-found, black country preacher out for an afternoon stroll with his wooden walking stick in one hand and the Holy Bible clutched in the other. The preacher wears a machine-stitched suit thoughtfully detailed with fine, white shirt cuffs poking out from beneath his jacket and the white Reverend's collar at his neck. His left shoe reveals a hole with a sock-covered toe poking through! The preacher's stove-pipe-style hat is placed snugly on his head covering most of his gray hair although his full gray facial beard features prominently. His embroidered facial features, characteristic of these WPA dolls, are further accented with "steel-rimmed" style eye glasses. The 1.5 square inch bible actually has real pages! Also characteristic of this type of doll is a small square of asphalt shingle glued to the feet to serve as a stand. The doll's body is well-stuffed with cotton batting and he stands freely.
The gray-hair and bearded, chicken-toting black country gent doll is also attired in machine-stitched clothing and additionally shares a cotton-bating stuffed body, embroidered facial features, and an asphalt shingle tile stand. He wears cotton britches detailed with double knee patches and suspenders along with a blue and cream striped cotton shirt and a red and white polka dot kerchief around his neck. His hat is constructed of black-colored felt. This country gent holds a finely crafted and detailed brown chicken under his right arm, while his left hand clutches a wooden walking stick.
Two very special dolls that represent a snapshot of history, capturing the lives of poor Southern black folk of the Depression era.
The dolls are priced at $295.00 each.
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To the collector of Helen Bannerman books, no collection is considered complete without a copy of each of the “Sambo” books:
Sambo and the Twins
The Story of Little Black Mingo
The Story of Little Black Quasha
The Story of Little Black Quibba
and in French, Histoire du Petit Negre Sambo.
All are quite difficult to find in any condition!
This 1936 copy of “Little Black Sambo and the Twins” published by Frederick A. Stokes of New York, is in quite fine condition with tight binding, tight pages, no rips or tears, minor edge wear to corners! Please view all photos for condition representation.
The story itself is truly quite violent and frightening in both text and in drawings- involving the kidnapping of the adorable twins, Woof and Moof, by very wicked monkeys!!! And this was bedtime reading for children!!!!
A very RARE book!!!
To see all of the Little Black Sambo items currently available for sale, simply type “Sambo” into the search box on our website homepage.
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This colorful paper broadside measures approximately 10.5 inches wide x 15.25 inches, and framed, measures 17 inches wide x 22 inches long. The poster or broadside is in excellent condition with the exception of a small, 1.5 inch long crease line above the top of the gray side of the model under the word "hair'. Otherwise wonderful!!
This piece has been matted and framed for some time and most recently hung on a wall in a Florida restaurant. To deter pilferage, the frame was actually screwed into the wall and as such, has evidence of minor puttying and repainting restoration where the two little screw holes were in the frame. The new owner may wish to continue restoration or simply leave the frame as is!
This poster is rarely found in the antiques market today, and due to its striking imagery and coloring, is destined to become a most delightful and decorative room focal point!!
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This doll depicts the black washerwoman. She holds an authentic-looking wood and tin washboard in her left arm. This gentlewoman wears a red kerchief on her head covering all hair and has embroidered facial features –most characteristic of these dolls. Also characteristic of this type of doll is a small square of asphalt shingle glued to the feet to serve as a stand. This doll still retains her original shingle stand but it has come loose from the left shoe. Clothing, with the exception of her navy-colored knit-fabric sweater, is machine-sewn cotton with careful detailing right down to the red hankie poking out of her apron pocket. Her body, which is well-stuffed to be anatomically correct, is black cotton fabric stuffed with cotton batting.
A very special doll that takes a snapshot of history in capturing the life of the poor southern black of the Depression era.
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Little Black Sambo is the featured story in this book with the short stories, "The Gingerbread Man" and Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse", added in as extras. While the illustrator in unnamed in the book's credits, all illustrations are executed by the same hand and are either initialed MEP" or signed "Margaret Evans Price".
A much-beloved children's classic written in the early 1900's by Englishwoman, Helen Bannerman, for her two daughters while they lived in India, Sambo, in the original tale, was an Indian boy and not an African-American child. He was soon converted to this race, however, by subsequent story tellers and illustrators. This age-old tale tells of Little Black Sambo and his frightening tiger encounter, which fortunately, has a happy ending!
The book exterior has seen much wear as evidenced in the photos, with significant wear to all edges, which amazingly, has had no effect on the sturdy structure of this book! The interior of the book remains in absolutely perfect condition, with an undamaged, very tight binding, and not an imperfection to be found-- no rips, stains, creases--only the inked inscription of the last name, "Meyere" on the upper right corner of the title page (see photos).
Illustrations are lovely and have that timeless yet nostalgic look of fine work produced in the Art Deco era!
Little Black Sambo books from this period are infrequently found!
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The origin of this sign is unknown, but given its very substantial size and weight, it likely once hung as a directional sign in a major bus or railroad station, designating the "WHITES ONLY" area where African-Americans were not permitted to sit, stand, or otherwise, occupy.
The subtly convex sign has had no restoration and remains in all-original condition. It bears areas of paint loss, scratching and superficial rusting (some areas larger in scope than others) typical for its age and use as noted in photos. Please view photos for further assessment of the sign's condition. The age and use-related signs of wear do not impact the physical integrity of the sign and are more than appropriate to the age and purpose of the piece.
An utterly phenomenal, extremely RARE, one-of-a-kind, museum-worthy piece of Black American history!
Please take a moment to view the other "Jim Crow" Segregationist Era signs that I currently have the pleasure of offering.
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American Beach was established in 1935 on Florida's east coast under the leadership of Abraham Lincoln Lewis, one of seven co-founders of the Afro-American Life Insurance Company, and one of Florida's first black millionaires. His vision was to create a beach resort as a benefit for company executives and as an incentive for employees.
In the era of Jim Crow segregation laws, few public places in Florida or the rest of the South were open to African Americans. From the Depression until well into the 1960's, American Beach served as a holiday and vacation destination for thousands of African Americans, and was a magnet for black celebrities such as entertainers Cab Calloway and Ray Charles, heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis and writer Zora Neale Hurston.
But in 1964, the area began to decline. Hurricane Dora destroyed much of the beach, and passage of the Civil Rights Act meant that blacks were, finally, no longer restricted to segregated beaches and the businesses that catered to them.
A fabulous and historically relevant piece of Black Americana!
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In wonderful, working condition, the black man's head is attached to his body via the original, flexible, metal rod which allows the head to bob back and forth when jiggled.
Marked on the base of the ashtray "Made in Austria". Paint loss as seen in photos with no repairs or repainting!
An interesting character!
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This rarely found copy was written and illustrated by the renowned author of a number of Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy stories of the period, Johnny Gruelle. The book was published in both the United States and Great Britain in 1926, by the P.F. Volland Company of Joliet, Illinois.
This copy has superficial scratches to the front and back covers, wear on book cover edges, inside cover has a small black marker smear, inside front & back covers have minor soiling here and there(see photos). The binding is super-tight and all pages remain very clean and present.
The book is eleven chapters in length, approximately 88 unnumbered pages. Book is filled with a variety of wonderful black-ink and full-color illustrations as represented in photos. PLEASE NOTE: in the photos, the printing seems somewhat light and faded- not so! It is merely the function of over-lighting or light reflection.
A wonderful and truly RARE book not to be missed--- it currently lists in Black Memorabilia books at $200-250!
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The banks may be purchased as a pair for $425.00, or they may be separately purchased as follows: Mammy with Spoon $295.00 and Black Man Darkey Sharecropper $225.
The Mammy with a Spoon measures 5 7/8 inches high and was produced between 1905 and 1930. She retains much of her original paint and exudes a warm, rich patina commensurate with a well-loved antique of approximately 100 years of age. She wears a blue dress, black shoes, a silver apron and a red kerchief that still retains some of its white polka dots. Mammy holds a gold-colored spoon in her right hand while placing her left hand firmly on her hip. Mammy means business!
The Black Man Darkey Sharecropper measures 5 1/2 inches high and was manufactured from 1901 to 1930. He retains most of his original paint showing less paint wear than Mammy and also exudes a very warm, rich patina. He wears black pants with red suspenders and a gold hat and gold shirt with red collar. He wears black shoes; however, his left black shoe is worn through at the toes, resulting in all five toes peeking out! He stands casually with his hands in his pocket. His back screw, while an old one, is a replacement.
Mammy and the Darkey Sharecropper were clearly manufactured as companion pieces given their similar size and stance. Both stand freely and would make wonderful additions to the well-curated, antique, Black Americana collection.
Withdrawn
Delightful item!
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The game features a brightly colored lithograph target depicting an African-American Gent to the left and a Caucasian Clown to the right, each with wide, gaping, open mouths in which one is to aim a ball.
This brightly lithographed cardboard game retains its 3 original wooden balls as well as cardboard cover, box, and target piece.
Measuring 13 inches square, the game displays wonderfully! As evident in the photos, the box cover and bottom show expected edge wear and many years back, the box corners were reinforced with tape. In the center of the box cover, a puncture is evident (see photo) that does not go through to the inside. The interior target piece does not show the same level of wear as it was protected by the cover and box bottom. The box cover is marked on the bottom, "Milton Bradley Company, Springfield, Mass. USA" and "Made in USA 4682".
A RARELY found, quite visually captivating Black Memorabilia collectible!
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The tin bears a copyright date of 1928, and given its fine condition, was obviously safely tucked away over the past 75+ years!
Processed and packaged by the William B. Reilly Company of New Orleans, Louisiana, and Baltimore, Maryland, this fabulous tin retains its original bail handle as well as its original cover! The tin features a vivid graphic of "Mammy Serving Coffee" which was the second style of Mammy graphic used by the company on its coffee tins. Additionally, this tin was part of a special sale promotion as evidenced by the advertising on the lid which is now partially worn off. The advertising reads: "Special 15 Cents Off Offer".
In marvelous condition- an especially lovely and visually appealing piece of vintage Black Americana advertising!!!
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This particular specimen, unfortunately, was not stored with care, and it suffered exposure to dampness at some time during its 85 years. It is, thus, being offered at significant discount.
Measuring 10 3/4 inches tall x 7 1/4 inches wide, the game retains its cover with three of four sides present, the directions card, ALL FIVE original wooden throwing balls, and the game target board which features the five "piccaninnies".
The box bottom is missing as is some of the purple paper that decorated the sides of the target board and which also once framed the front cover. Remnants of this paper remain on two sides of the box cover.
The target board, despite its exposure to dampness, remains completely intact including the original metal guide pins that are located at the bottom of each piccaninny's open mouth and which would have helped to "guide" the target ball into the piccaninny's mouth during play. The target paper litho is somewhat loosened at the edges here and there, and foxing is present. The cover suffered the most exposure to dampness as is evident from viewing photos. There is foxing and some surface paper loss is evident as seen in photos.
The Spear Game Company designed the game, and it was manufactured in their facility in Bavaria, Germany. (This information was printed along the base of the game cover, although 50% of it is now no longer readable.) The Spear Works of Germany operated prolifically from the 1890s through the 1930's, and during this time period, it was recognized as the most well known, international manufacturer of games and children's activity kits. Publishing rights are noted on the direction page as J. W. Spear + Sons, New York City.
RARELY found!!
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This circa 1920-30's Johnny Griffin item is constructed of cast iron and is a match holder! It remains functional for such use today or may be simply used as an attractive desk paperweight or perhaps as a wall ornament!
The match holder is in all original condition with delightful patina- not a reproduction- no replaced parts- and measures 4 1/4 inches long x 4 1/4 inches wide x 1 inch deep. It is unmarked and retains traces of original paint as well as some surface rusting which appears in some photos to be more significant than it is in actuality.
The Johnny Griffin image- in the arena of Black Americana collectibles - should form the cornerstone of any serious Black Memorabilia collection!