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Books > Arts & Architecture > Antiques & collectables > Books, manuscripts, ephemera & printed matter
For over forty years, professor and culinary historian Jessica B.
Harris has collected postcards depicting Africans and their
descendants in the American diaspora. They are presented for the
first time in this exquisite volume. Vintage Postcards from the
African World: In the Dignity of Their Work and the Joy of Their
Play brings together more than 150 images, providing a visual
document of more than a century of work in agricultural and
culinary pursuits and joy in entertainments, parades, and
celebrations. Organized by geography - Africa, the Caribbean, and
the United States - as well as by the types of scenes depicted -
the farm, the garden, and the sea; the marketplace; the vendors and
the cooks; leisure, entertainments, and festivities - the images
capture the dignity of the labors of everyday life and the pride of
festive occasions. Superb and rare images demonstrate everything
from how Africans and their descendants dressed to what tools they
used to how their entertainments provided relief from toil. Three
essays accompany the postcards, one of which details Harris's
collection and the collecting process. A second presents
suggestions on how to interpret the cards. A final essay gives
brief information on the history of postcards and postcard dating
and its increasing use and value to scholars.
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