The Pickaninny by Artis, Charles - 1973

New York: Vantage Press, 1973. 1st ed. Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine. 177p. Hardcover in original binding. Two different djs -- one over the other but in no particular order. 21 cm. Perhaps the author was ambivalent or unhappy with the first design, whichever that was, and so a second jacket was produced. The jackets are different in a few ways, most importantly in the illustration which appears on the front panel. Both jackets are Near Fine. INSCRIBED to "Hazel" on front free endpaper by Artis. We have seen copies of this book with one of the other of these jackets. We don't know why both jackets are on this copy. This mix of racism, romance and greed appears to be the author's second novel. His first novel ("The Last Rope") was published as a paperback in Oakland, CA in 1969. OCLC lists two Danish holding of a 1971 book in Danish by a Charles Artis which appears to be a Danish translation of "The Last Rope." We are not aware of any later books by this African American author.

New York: Vantage Press, 1973. Hardcover. First editions. Octavos. One copy fine in near fine dustwrapper with some toning to the spine and waviness along the topedge. The other copy is near fine in good or better dustwrapper with splash marks, creases and chipping. The second copy is Inscribed by the author. Novel about the struggle for ownership of a wealthy estate that was split between the owners adopted black son who passes for white and her brother. The book was issued with two drastically different jackets. One shows a white man in riding gear observing a young black man holding the reins of his horse with a plantation-style mansion in the background, while the other pictures a white man looking suspiciously at an indifferent black man while a white woman smile mischievously below them. While we have seen variant covers by this vanity press publisher, they are uncommon and typically are issued only when a book returns to print many years later. Unusual and uncommon.