Lincoln, Nebraska: Western Book Supply Company, 1915.
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Hardcover. First edition. 521pp. Frontispiece portrait of the author, line drawings. Fine in a fresh and very good or better dustwrapper with moderate chipping at the spine ends. Micheaux's second book, like his first, a self-published novel with autobiographical elements. Micheaux was a successful farmer who was defrauded by his in-laws and lost his land. He eventually took to writing pulp fiction from the vantage point of African-Americans. A savvy entrepreneur, he realized the growing potential of motion pictures (and the undeveloped African-American market for them) and in 1914 he wrote, produced, and directed the first two of his many films with all-black casts. Financing the films himself and handling almost all aspects of production and marketing personally, Micheaux pioneered self-reliant black cinema and created an entire industry based on the belief that film could be an entertainment medium for blacks with complete independence from the constraints and pre-conceptions of Hollywood. Micheaux continued to write novels until his death in 1951, often adapting his own works for the screen. The first edition of this book is uncommon; we've never seen another copy in dust jacket.
Item #440207
