FIRST EDITION OF BOOKER T. WASHINGTON'S TUSKEGEE & ITS PEOPLE, 1905, WITH A MAJOR ESSAY BY WASHINGTON—THE ERA'S "MOST DOMINANT FIGURE IN AFRICAN AMERICAN SOCIETY"

WASHINGTON, Booker T. Tuskegee & Its People: Their Ideals and Achievements. New York: D. Appleton, 1905. Octavo, original gilt-stamped burgundy cloth.

First edition of an important work on Booker T. Washington's Tuskegee Institute, expressing his goal "to write a history of the individual yearnings for the light of knowledge"—a scarce copy containing the publisher's tipped-in leaf printed, "Compliments of Booker T. Washington"—with essays by Washington, leaders of the school and graduates, along with frontispiece portrait of Washington and 23 full-page illustrations.

Washington, the Wizard of Tuskegee, was the "most dominant figure in African American society" when Tuskegee & Its People appeared (Verney, Art of the Possible, 111). Famed for his 1895 Atlanta "Compromise" Speech and an approach to African American education that highlighted vocational training over academics, Washington is often contrasted to W.E.B. Du Bois. Yet many see a rupture between Washington's public stance and his school's actual history. "From its early days, Tuskegee offered a broad curriculum, not unlike that found in high schools for white students at the time… The academic curriculum of Tuskegee was not promoted publicly—as was the vocational program—and flew under the radar so to speak" (Morowski in American Educational History Journal).

When Tuskegee & Its People appeared, most secondary schools in the South were whites only and the 1896 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Plessy v Ferguson had fiercely institutionalized segregation. To many, a fresh analysis of this major work might "better decipher Washington's place in African American history… the validity of his so-called grassroots leadership style, the realities of students' experiences at Tuskegee, and the overall complexity and multidimensional nature of his leadership" (Dagbovie, African American History Reconsidered, 152). Washington secretly supported a number of civil rights causes and "never said that American minorities would forever forgo the right to vote, to gain a full education, or to enjoy the fruits of an integrated society. But he strategically chose not to force the issue in the face of the overwhelming white hostility that was the reality of American race relations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries" (ANB). One of an undetermined number with a tipped-in leaf printed; "Compliments of Booker T. Washington, Principal Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, Tuskegee Institute, Alabama." Edited by Washington with his extensive introduction, containing five essays from leaders in the school's staff, including his wife, Margaret Murray Washington, and 17 essays from Tuskegee graduates, along with 24 full-page illustrations, including a frontispiece portrait of Washington. Without rarely found dust jacket. Penciled inscription in a secretarial hand or from the publisher, to "R. Henry W. Dwight from the Author. 1905." The recipient is likely R. Henry W. Dwight, a descendant of the New England Dwight family, whose members served in the U.S. Congress and whose legacy reaches back to the American Revolution. The R. Henry W. Dwight collection of his family's history is housed in the Norman Rockwell Museum Archives. Tiny bit of marginalia to one leaf of the introduction.

Interior fine, only lightest edge-wear to bright gilt-stamped cloth. A very handsome about-fine copy.