Harris, Joel Chandler “The Tar-Baby and Other Rhymes of Uncle Remus” [D. Appleton, 1904]

HARRIS, Joel Chandler. The Tar-Baby and Other Rhymes of Uncle Remus.

New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1904. Early printing, with "Published September, 1904" on copyright page. Illustrated in color by A. B. Frost and E. W. Kemble, with additional illustrations and decorative borders throughout. Publisher's original gray cloth with dark blue lettering and pictorial illustration to front board, gilt lettering to spine. Top edge gilt. Inscription dated Christmas 1906 on preliminary leaf. Cloth rubbed and worn along spine and extremities, with fraying at spine ends and corners, scattered soiling, and fading to spine lettering. Interior pages toned, with occasional spotting and edge wear. Front hinge starting. Good.

An uncommon collection of verse featuring the animal characters of Joel Chandler Harris's Uncle Remus stories, drawn from African American folktale traditions of the American South. Illustrated by A. B. Frost and E. W. Kemble, whose work helped establish the visual identity of Brer Rabbit and his fellow characters, the volume features color plates and elaborate decorative borders. Harris's Uncle Remus books were influential in popularizing these folktales, though their portrayal of Black vernacular and plantation life remains a subject of critical examination.