FIRST EDITION OF STRIDE TOWARD FREEDOM, INSCRIBED BY DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

KING Jr., Martin Luther. Stride Toward Freedom. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1958. Octavo, original half black cloth, original dust jacket. Housed in a custom clamshell box. $12,500.

First edition of Dr. King's first book, an account of the Montgomery bus strike, boldly inscribed by the civil rights leader, "Best Wishes, Martin Luther King, Jr." (dated "9/13/58" in another hand).

In his first book, King presents a full and personal account of the bus strike in Montgomery, Alabama. Sparked by Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat to a white man, it was the first successful large-scale application of non-violent resistance to segregation in the United States. Non-violence, King reflects, "recognizes that social change cannot come overnight. But it causes one to work as if it were a possibility the next morning." With eight pages of black-and-white photographs. Blockson 4119.

Book about-fine with text clean, spine head lightly rubbed. Dust jacket very good with mild fading to spine, modest loss to spine ends, mild edge-wear including crease to front flap. A desirable inscribed copy.