[Dual Provenance:] Following the Color Line. An Account of Negro Citizenship in the American Democracy.

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Important study on race in America written by journalist Ray Stannard Baker in the aftermath of the Atlanta race riot of 1906. This copy with an interesting double provenance; a female correspondent to W.E.B. Du Bois; then later extensive underlinings, with some handwritten annotations, by a male African American scholar.

Baker (1870–1946) was a native of Lansing, Michigan who studied at the University of Michigan. He was an editor for McClure’s Magazine, and authored at least seven books, as well as contributing articles to Americana and English magazines. “His best-known work of reportage was a series of articles on the race question, written on the basis of a trip through the South in 1907. These essays, republished in Following the Color Line: An Account of Negro Citizenship in the American Democracy (1908), were not, strictly speaking, a muckraking investigation. But they were a widely discussed field report on race relations and the place of blacks in America, notable for their balanced approach, comprehensive coverage, and fresh insights.” (ANB)

This copy was first owned by Isabel Eaton of Boston’s Robert Gould Shaw House, Shaw being the heroic Civil War commander of the first all-Black 54th Massachusetts regiment. Miss Eaton’s ownership inscription is dated a few years after the book’s publication. She was a head resident worker at the Shaw House (a settlement house and community center) and, more importantly, she was a frequent correspondent of W.E.B. Du Bois.

Then, extensive pencil marks, underlinings, with some annotations in the book, appear to date from a later period. They are likely by the second owner of the book, whose two bookplates and ownership inscription appear within: “Laurence J.W. Hayes. Box 1, Howard University.” Laurence John Wesley Hayes (1908–?) appears to have been graduated from Howard University which published his monograph The Negro Federal Government Worker, A Study of His Classification Status in the District of Columbia, 1883-1938 (1941).

A few examples of Hayes’s annotations will give a sense of his interests. On page 223, where author Baker contrasts Booker T. Washington’s and W.E.B. Du Bois’ views on the “Negro,” Hayes writes: “J.E. says Follow W[ashington]‘s advice in the South & Du B’s and W’s in the North. viz. – work & shine & clean So.——- & std. for [indistinct] N.” On page 232, Hayes marks and underlines this passage: “Only by a complete understanding can the white man who has assumed the entire responsibility of government in this country meet crises, like that of the Atlanta riot, which are constantly arising between the races.” Underneath he appends this note: “Why Neg[roes] do not rise in arms – [Abraham] Linc[oln]‘s & [William Lloyd] Garrisons.”

Price: $300.00