PAPERBACK ISBN: 0-88258-209-7       $38.95

256 pages; 6 x 9 inches

Preservers of Black History

Edited by Elinor Des Verney Sinnette, W. Paul Coates, and Thomas C. Battle 

Black Bibliophiles and Collectors: Preservers of Black History, edited by Elinor Des Verney Sinnette, W. Paul Coates, and Thomas C. Battle, examines the lives and work of early heroes of black collecting who devoted their time, energy, and considerable financial resources—often at great personal sacrifice—to obtain books and other materials that would ensure the preservation of black people’s history.  Among the more notable of these is Arthur Schomburg, who established the Schomburg Collection at the New York Public Library.  Also recognized is Joseph W. H. Cathcart, a janitor who collected newspaper clippings in the 1800s simply because he believed strongly that both the good and the bad needed to be preserved about the black race.   This book salutes these greatly ignored and too often derided pioneers by acknowledging their achievements. It further salutes the efforts of such contemporary, private collectors as Charles Blockson and Clarence Holte (whose essays appear in this volume) and such public institutions as the Moorland­-Spingarn Research Center, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and the Atlanta University Center (whose histories and collections are described).

© 1998-2000 Howard University, all rights reserved.  Last updated:11 January 2006.
HOWARD UNIVERSITY PRESS.  2225 Georgia Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20059.  Phone (202) 238-2570
Webmaster: howardupress@howard.edu
Design & Production: Jamie Walker  
DISCLAIMER