Nigger Heaven
by Van Vechten, Carl
Nigger Heaven is a novel written by Carl Van Vechten and published originally in 1926. The controversially-titled book is set during the Harlem Renaissance in the United States in the 1920s, and serves as a portrayal of life in the "great black walled city" of Harlem. It describes the interactions of intellectuals, political activists, bacchanalian workers, and other Harlem characters.
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On Nov 9, 2010, feeney said
Carl Van Vechten was a white novelist and literary critic who was fascinated by American Negroes and by Manhattan's Harlem, "the Mecca of the New Negro." NIGGER HEAVEN (1926) is the story of a young Harlem librarian, Mary Love, and a recently arrival in Harlem, college graduate and wannabe writer, Byron Kasson. *** Negroes of Harlem in the 1920s are portrayed as obsessed with shades of "blackness." Both Mary and Byron are the same shade of light brown. Each could pass for Spanish --or "better" -- if he or she cared to. Both neither does. On the other hand, there are 8,000 Negroes in New York City who have chosen to pass, to become white. Is this the solution to enmity between the Caucasian and Negro races: intermarriage till all the world is white? *** Mary, hitherto prim and reserved, is instantly smitten when she meets the young man newly come from Philadelphia with a degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Within two more meetings, Mary is mad for Byron and shows it. He, on the other hand, has a weakness for women and had had to leave Philadelphia when an irate husband caught him in an affair with his wife. *** Mary is wooed by a respectable, self-made, wealthy dark man but turns him down as uneducated. Meanwhile Byron, the stereotypical angry young man, refuses to use letters of introduction from his father and others to land a good job. He writes a short story that is rejected repeatedly. At the same time he becomes the kept man, till she tires of him, of rich, exotic Lasca Sartoris. She is easily bored but at the zenith of their affair, Lasca shouts to Byron, "I want you to possess me, to own me. I want to be your slave." *** Throughout the novel the Negro characters, along with a handful of whites fascinated by Harlem night life, agonize about injustices meted out from one race to another. Whites push people of color down from above. Uneducated negroes pull "the talented tenth" down from below. If only their skins were paler, all would be well!NIGGER HEAVEN is full of Harlem atmospherics, Negro Spirituals, jive talk, hot, primitive music and dark-skinned people who are thought to enjoy life more than priggish white folk ("pinks") living farther south in Manhattan. The book ends with a helpful "Glossary of Negro Words and Phrases. Examples: -- "arnchy: a person who puts on airs"; "bardacious: marvellous";"C.P.T.: "coloured people's time, i.e., late"; "kinkout: hair-straightener"; "scronch: a dance"; and "unsheik: divorce." *** When it first appeared, NIGGER HEAVEN was widely reviled, mainly for its horrible title. But from the beginning until today, important people and critics have loved the book. It counts today as a "classic" of the Harlem Renaissance (1919 - 1935. A good read. -OOO-
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NIGGER HEAVEN
by Van Vechten, Carl
- Condition
- Used
- Edition
- First Edition
- Published
- 1926
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Rockville, Maryland, USA
- Item Price
-
A$304.78
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Description:
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1926. First Edition. Hardcover. Octavo, 286 pages; VG-; contemporary full tan cloth binding; spine with light blue lettering; mild shelf wear and soiling; small stain to upper left corner of front board; three small stains at upper right corner of back board; upper edge of textblock dyed navy; pages clean; CX consignment; NOTE: Shelved… Read more about this item Item Price
A$304.78
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NIGGER HEAVEN
by Van Vechten, Carl
- Condition
- Used
- Edition
- First Edition
- Published
- 1926
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Rockville, Maryland, USA
- Item Price
-
A$914.34
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Description:
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1926. First Edition. Hardcover. Octavo, 286 pages; VG-/G; spine light blue with age-toned white lettering; dust jacket protected with a mylar covering; mild shelf wear to volume; significant wear to jacket; front flap detached; dust jacket spine slightly faded and age-toned; chips missing at crown and tail of jacket spine; small closed tear at… Read more about this item Item Price
A$914.34
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NIGGER HEAVEN
by Van Vechten. Carl
- Condition
- Used - Cloth bound in very good condition with front and rear duct jacket panels, lacking jacket spine.
- Edition
- First UK edition
- Published
- 1926
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Richmond, Texas, USA
- Item Price
-
A$243.06
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Description:
London: Knopf, 1926. First UK edition. Cloth bound in very good condition with front and rear duct jacket panels, lacking jacket spine.. 286 pages. Item Price
A$243.06
Nigger Heaven
by Van Vechten, Carl
- Condition
- Used - Good
- Jacket Condition
- Missing
- Published
- 1928-01-01
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Boerne, Texas, USA
- Item Price
-
A$76.20
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Description:
Grosset & Dunlap, 1928-01-01. Hardcover. Good/Missing. Book is askew. Corners bumped and rubbed to the board. Spine is tanned. Edge wear. Front hinge cracked. Pages lightly yellowed with a couple of small stains. Overall clean and binding is tight. No jacket. Item Price
A$76.20
Nigger Heaven
by Van Vechten, Carl
- Condition
- Used - Good
- Edition
- Cloth/no dust jacket Octavo
- Published
- 1927
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Paris, FRA
- Item Price
-
A$82.70
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Description:
New York: Alfred A Knopf, 1927. Cloth/no dust jacket Octavo. Hardcover. Good. brown cloth, blue lettering, no dust jacket, 286 pp 11th printing spine slightly cocked covers worn on the edges and stained on the front foxing on the edges and pages
Standard shipping (no tracking) / Priority (with tracking) / Custom quote for… Read more about this item Item Price
A$82.70
Nigger Heaven
by Van Vechten, Carl
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Jacket Condition
- Very Good
- Edition
- 1st Edition
- Published
- 1926
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Garrison, New York, USA
- Item Price
-
A$685.76
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Description:
Alfred A. Knopf Inc. Spine separating. DJ in archival cover, spine sunned, large chip, edge ware, gift inscription. . Very Good. Hardcover. 1st Edition. 1st Printing. 1926. Item Price
A$685.76
Nigger Heaven
by Van Vechten, Carl
- Condition
- Used - Very Good-
- Jacket Condition
- Fair
- Edition
- Fourteenth Printing
- Published
- 1928
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Madison, New Jersey, USA
- Item Price
-
A$144.77
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Description:
New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1928. 286pgs.previous owner inscription on the title page. black cloth, yellow lettering. spine has some creasing, rubbnig to the front panel. internally clean. Unclipped pictorial jacket (scarce)has 2" chip off the upper edge of the spine, closed tear and slit on the lower edge of the front panel. foxing on the flaps. in mylar sleeve.… Read more about this item Item Price
A$144.77
Nigger Heaven
by Carl Van Vechten
- Condition
- Used
- Published
- 1928
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Item Price
-
A$56.06
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Description:
Grosset & Dunlap, 1928. 286, [1] pp., original black cloth (hardcover), lacks the jacket, bottom corners worn, else very good. - If you are reading this, this item is actually (physically) in our stock and ready for shipment once ordered. We are not bookjackers. Buyer is responsible for any additional duties, taxes, or fees required by recipient's country.… Read more about this item Item Price
A$56.06
Nigger Heaven
by Van Vechten, Carl
- Condition
- Used - Good
- Jacket Condition
- Missing
- Edition
- First Edition
- Published
- 1926-01-01
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
- Item Price
-
A$228.58
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Description:
New York: Knopf, 1926-01-01. First Edition. Hardcover. Good/Missing. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1926. Same date on title and copyright page, no additional printings indicated. [8], 286pp. + colophon. Light brown cloth boards, blue border stamped around edges of front board, title stamped in blue on spine. Deckled page edges. 1932 New York Times review of another Van… Read more about this item Item Price
A$228.58
*IGGER HEAVEN
by Van Vechten, Carl
- Condition
- Used - Good
- Jacket Condition
- No Jacket
- Edition
- First Ed
- Published
- 1951
- Binding
- Paperback
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Salem, Oregon, USA
- Item Price
-
A$45.72
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Description:
Avon, 1951. Book. Good. Soft cover. First Ed. First paperback ed. Good condition, over all wear, small price written on front cover, dirt smudges to inside of covers and last page, copyright page missing.. Item Price
A$45.72
Nigger Heaven
by Carl Van Vechten
- Condition
- New
- Binding
- Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9780252068607
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Southport, Merseyside, GBR
- Item Price
-
A$44.47
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Description:
Paperback / softback. New. Opening on a scene of tawdry sensationalism, this novel shifts decisively to a world of black middle-class respectability, defined by intellectual values, professional ambition, and an acute consciousness of class and racial identity. Item Price
A$44.47
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Nigger Heaven
by VAN VECHTEN, Carl
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Published
- 1928
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Gloucester City, New Jersey, USA
- Item Price
-
A$495.27
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Description:
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928. Hardcover. Very Good. Fourteenth printing. Very good with edges slightly bumped, a touch cocked and with paper remnant on the rear board, possibly from the now missing jacket. With the bookplate of African-American poet Mari Evans on the front pastedown. A novel about a young couple in Harlem, set amid the cabarets… Read more about this item Item Price
A$495.27
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NIGGER HEAVEN
by Carl Van Vechten
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Edition
- First Edition, First Printing
- Published
- 1926
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Dayton, Ohio, USA
- Item Price
-
A$304.78
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Description:
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1926. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover. Very Good. 286p. A brown cloth hardcover book in very good condition. Binding is slightly cockeyed, but still tight. The spine is tanned and sows some light wear at the top and bottom. Endpapers are tanned; otherwise, text is unmarked. The first edition, first printing of this… Read more about this item Item Price
A$304.78
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Nigger Heaven
by VAN VECHTEN, Carl
- Condition
- Used - Good
- Jacket Condition
- fair
- Edition
- First Edition
- Published
- 1926
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Brisbane, Queensland, AUS
- Item Price
-
A$200.00
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Description:
London: Alfred A. Knopf, 1926. First Edition. Good/fair. Hardcover : pp. [viii] [2] 3-386 [388] : brown cloth lettered in gilt to spine : thick black paper dust jacket lettered in grey.
Jacket brittle and in two pieces (now protected in plastic); corners bumped; all edges foxed and foxing to the first and last leaves. Van Vechten's… Read more about this item Item Price
A$200.00
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NIGGER HEAVEN
by Carl Van Vechten
- Condition
- Used
- Edition
- 4th printing
- Published
- 1926
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Dayton, Ohio, USA
- Item Price
-
A$457.17
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Description:
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1926. 4th printing. Hardcover. 286p. A hardcover book in very good condition with an acceptable dustjacket. Spine faintly faded and patchy tanning on endpapers. Occasional unobtrusive fingerprint smudges in the margins. Otherwise, text clean and binding tight. The jacket is sunfaded and edgeworn. The spine is chipped at the top and splitting down the… Read more about this item Item Price
A$457.17
Nigger Heaven
by Vechten, Carl Van
- Condition
- Used - Good
- Published
- 2000
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN
- 9780252068607
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Leicester, GBR
- Item Price
-
A$23.21
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Description:
United States: University Of Illinois Press, 2000. Card covers in tidy condition, crease to the front panel. Paperback. Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Item Price
A$23.21
Nigger Heaven
by Van Vechten, Carl
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Edition
- 1st Edition
- Published
- 1926
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Portland, Oregon, USA
- Item Price
-
A$190.49
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Description:
Alfred A. Knopf, 1926. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Hardcover, brown cloth boards with black lettering & decoration, 8vo, 286 pp. Modest fading to spine, light wear, clean & sound copy. Despite its unfortunate name (against which he was advised), it was well received by the Black population it describes. Item Price
A$190.49
Nigger Heaven
by Carl Van Vechten
- Condition
- New
- Binding
- Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9780252068607
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Uxbridge, Greater London, GBR
- Item Price
-
A$49.17
Show Details
Description:
Paperback / softback. New. New Book; Fast Shipping from UK; Not signed; Not First Edition; Opening on a scene of tawdry sensationalism, this novel shifts decisively to a world of black middle-class respectability, defined by intellectual values, professional ambition, and an acute consciousness of class and racial identity. Item Price
A$49.17
Nigger Heaven
by Carl Van Vechten
- Condition
- Used - Very Good Condition
- Jacket Condition
- No Dust Jacket
- Edition
- Third Edition
- Published
- 1926
- Binding
- Hardcover (Original Cloth)
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Katoomba, New South Wales, AUS
- Item Price
-
A$75.00
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Description:
Knopf, 1926. Third Edition. Hardcover (Original Cloth). Very Good Condition/No Dust Jacket. Size: Octavo (standard book size). 286 pages. Text body is clean, and free from previous owner annotation, underlining and highlighting. Binding is tight, covers and spine fully intact, bar chips to top and/or bottom section of spine. Moderately foxed throughout. Previous owner's signature… Read more about this item Item Price
A$75.00
Nigger Heaven
by Van Vechten, Carl
- Condition
- Used - Very Good -
- Edition
- First British Edition
- Published
- 1926
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Lewisporte, Newfoundland, CAN
- Item Price
-
A$99.05
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Description:
London: Alfred A Knopf, 1926. Hardcover without dust jacket, 286 pages including "Glossary of Negro Words and Phrases"; overall gently used, tight in binding, plain brown covers with bright and clear gilt spine lettering, light bumps to spine ends and corners, tiny traces of shelf wear to bottom cover edges, edges age toned,… Read more about this item Item Price
A$99.05