Souvenir Edition Journal. National Dental Association . .

[New York, New York]: National Dental Association, 1939. Very good -. 12 1/8" x 9¼". Faux leather over flexible card wrappers. Pp. 88. Very good minus: two tears to front wrapper, repaired earlier with tape, remnants of adhesive to spine on wraps and first leaf, the latter with a closed tear; penciled notation to front wrap and small notations of former ownership to one page; a bit of edge wear and a few scattered creases; lightly toned.

This is a heavily illustrated program for an annual convention of an African American group, the National Dental Association (NDA). Brimming with histories, photographic images and illustrated advertisements, the book also serves as a great resource for New York businesses, many of them Black-owned.

The history of NDA stems from the 1900 founding of the Washington (D.C.) Society of Col*red Dentists, which was renamed the Robert T. Freeman Dental Society in 1907. From 1913 the group expanded to encompass various state societies, and took the national designation in 1932. NDA strives to provide dental care, education and career assistance for impoverished, disabled and aged populations, as well as those of color.

This book contains 94 photographic images, including portraits of NDA officers, the executive board, state and national leaders and past presidents. There are detailed photo features on the history and accomplishments of several regional dental societies, schools and "study clubs," as well as an illustrated account by the NDA historian. A report titled "History and Progress: A Survey of the Col*red Dentist in America" spans nearly the whole book, which also includes NDA's statement on the National Health Bill of 1939 and a feature on Dr. Thomas A. Curtis, pioneer Black dentist and civil rights leader who helped organize the NAACP and Urban League branches of St. Louis, Missouri. Women were also well-represented in the book; they served as two of the seven officers of the North Harlem Dental Society and made up one-third of the Convention Program Committee. Other photographic images show both the National and North Harlem Ladies Auxiliaries of the NDA.

The book holds dozens of illustrated advertisements, mainly for dental laboratories and suppliers in New York, with a few from other cities. There are also 18 ads for local Black-owned businesses including the Harriet Hotel, Madam C.J. Walker's beauty shops, a list of five "Ne*ro-owned drug stores" and an ad for Morgan S. Smith's photography. Smith documented Black leaders, celebrities, Harlem life and culture for decades, and his photographs won awards, were exhibited in galleries and reproduced in books. There is also an index to the advertisers at the rear of the book.

A rare and heavily illustrated program for an important Black medical organization. OCLC shows two holdings.