JOHNSON, James Weldon.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

The Book of American Negro Spirituals. First edition, first printing, presentation copy from the author, inscribed on the title page: "To Mr. George Gershwin, very sincerely, James Weldon Johnson, Nov. 22 1925". A fine association: Gershwin "established a special closeness with brothers James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938) and J. Rosamond Johnson (1873-1954). In earlier years, the Johnsons had been a songwriting team much like the Gershwins" (Pollack, p. 105). "In the spirit of the Harlem Renaissance, the Johnson brothers also cultivated an interest in African American folk music. In 1925 and 1926, the movement's zenith, they brought forth two volumes of Negro spirituals, arranged by J. Rosamond and Lawrence Brown. Each spiritual bore a dedication to some friend or hero, including Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois, dedications that taken together helped chart the social terrain of the Harlem Renaissance. The Johnsons dedicated three spirituals to [Carl] Van Vechten … more than to anyone else … and in the second volume [The Second Book of American Negro Spirituals], they dedicated the lively spiritual "In dat Great Gittin' Up Mornin'" to Gershwin (who was, along with Percy Grainger and Fritz Kreisler, one of the small number of white composers so honoured … James Weldon, on hearing of Gershwin's death, sent Ira a telegram stating, 'America has lost a great composer. 'Personally, I feel his loss as a friend'".Civil-rights leader, poet, and novelist, James Weldon Johnson bec

• Printing: first

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