Mostly minor edge wear to jacket, worse at spine ends.
Jacket artwork by William Belcher.
£125
London, André Deutsch, 1964.
First edition. 8vo. Original green boards. Dust-jacket, priced 18s.
The first edition, preceding the Heinemann African Writers Series edition, of the author’s first novel. An experimental novel, Okara delves into themes of identity, colonialism and the conflict between modernity and traditional African values.
In stock
Mostly minor edge wear to jacket, worse at spine ends.
Jacket artwork by William Belcher.
African literature
London, Heinemann, 1958.
First edition, first impression; 8vo. Original brick-red cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 15s.
The first edition of Nigerian author Achebe's first novel, one of the BBC's '100 Novels That Shaped Our World'. Things Fall Apart is the first part of the author's 'African Trilogy', a compelling story of one man's battle to protect his community against the forces of change, seen as the archetypal modern African novel in English, and one of the first to receive global critical acclaim. It is a literary staple of schools throughout Africa and is widely read and studied in English-speaking countries around the world. Scarce.
African literature
Ibadan, Mbari Publications, 1964.
First edition. 8vo. Original pictorial wrappers.
Inspired by the songs and verse traditions of the author's native Ewe people, this marked the publishing debut of the Ghanaian poet and author Williams, also known as Kofi Awoonor. Uncommon in this condition.
A Journal of African and Afro-American Literature. No.10
Ibadan, Nigeria, General Publications Section, Ministry of Education, [1962].
Small folio. US distributor's label to copyright page. Original pictorial wrappers.
An attractive issue of this seminal West African literary journal. Includes a section on 'New Nigerian Poetry'.
"The steady development of Black Orpheus over the last seven years amounts to a remarkable achievement. It has succeeded in breaking the vicious circle that seems to inhibit the development of a proper reading public by its continued existence, by its very availability; more than that, it has also gone on to establish itself as one of the most important formative influences in modern African literature.…It can be said, without much exaggeration, that the founding of Black Orpheus, if it did not directly inspire new writing in English-speaking Africa, at least coincided with the first promptings of a new, modern, literary expression and re-inforced it by keeping before the potential writer the example of the achievements of the French-speaking and Negro American writers." (Abiola Irele, editor, Journal of Modern African Studies). The magazine ceased publication in 1975.
African literature
Durban, The Knox Publishing Company, 1944.
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth-backed boards. Dust-jacket, priced 4/-.
"An enchanting tale of Matambo, a hero of the Matabele people..." (jacket blurb). Scarce.
African literature
Introduction by Oliver Tambo. Edited by Ruth First
London, Heinemann, 1965.
First edition. 8vo. Original black boards lettered in gilt. Dust-jacket.
A very good first edition of Mandela's collected early writings, including his famous speech at the Rivonia Trial (1964). Distinctly uncommon, preceding his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom by almost thirty years.