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| Title | A coon alphabet (W) |
| Author | Kemble, E.W. (Edward Windsor), 1861-1933 |
| Publisher | Russell, R.H.
|
| Publisher Location | United States -- New York -- New York |
| Publication Date | 1898 |
| Printer | Unknown
|
| Illustrator | Unknown
|
| Image Production Process | Planographic prints--lithographs
|
| Notes | Illustrated with uncolored lithographic prints.
An alphabet book with rhymes written in imitation of southern Black English of the 19th century and illustrations that portray blacks in negative stereotypical roles. At the end of each rhyme, the black person usually ends up being hurt somehow, either due to their insinuated stupidity, malice or laziness.
"W's fo[r] whale, dat dese [that these] coons, while a sailin[g], thought they saw, but it was--jist [just] a plain water-melon." The first illustration (not shown) depicts one young boy in a boat and two young boys in the water, all looking skeptically at a round shape floating by. The second illustration depicts the boy in the boat leaping into the water to grab the watermelon while the other two boys swim towards it. |
| Contextual Notes | Right after the Civil War, books were published that attempted to refute the "immorality" of slavery. While some of these books purported to document the kind and reasonable treatment of slaves in the South, others, such as this book, portrayed blacks as deserving of their ill-treatment. All of these books relied on racial stereotypes. Racial stereotypes persisted in the United States long after the Civil War and these children's books were also especially popular in England. At about this same time, silent movies were showing white actors in blackface and featuring minstrel shows.
Edward Windsor Kemble was a self-taught artist well-known for his cartoons of soldiers, Indians, and blacks in publications such as Harper's, Century, and Leslie's. |
| Subjects (LCSH) | African Americans -- Southern States -- Caricatures and cartoons |
| Category | Discrimination and bigotry
Alphabet books
|
| Language | English |
| Digital Collection | Children's Historical Literature Collection |
| Digital ID Number | CHL1123 |
| Repository | University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections Division |
| Repository Collection | Children's Historical Literature Collection. NC1429.K4 C66 1898 |
| Object Type | Book
|
| Physical Description | [56] leaves: illustrated; 27.5 x 20.5 cm. |
| Digital Reproduction Information | Photographed from original book in TIFF format using a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi/EOS 400D, resized and enhanced using Adobe Photoshop, and imported as JPEG2000 using Contentdm's software JPEG2000 Extension. 2009. |
| Exhibit Checklist | Exhibit checklist L.142 |
