The Blacker the Berry: A Novel of Negro Life by Thurman, Wallace - 1929

New York: Macaulay Company, 1929. First edition. Hardcover. Very good minus. 262pp. Octavo [19.5 cm] Brown cloth with title stamped in black on the front board and backstrip. The spine is rolled. Thurman's first published novel offers a frank portrayal of prejudice within the black community, and was divisive among the public and critics alike. Thurman was already fairly well known within the "Harlem Renaissance," but the publication of this work would announce his talents to a wider audience, and would help to cement his reputation as a writer who would take on unpopular (and sometimes uncomfortable) subjects. This copy bears two interesting indications of its Hollywood provenance: the bookplate of longtime M-G-M writer-producer Carey Wilson is on the front pastedown; and on the rear pastedown is a label from the celebrated Satyr Book Shop on Vine Street (which was located in the same building as the Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant), from where the book was most likely originally purchased.