DUNBAR, Paul Laurence. The Sport of the Gods. Dodd, Mead, New York, 1902.

Price: US$750.00 + shipping

Condition: Good

Description: Octavo, 255pp. First edition in book form, preceded by an appearance in Lippincott's Magazine in 1901. Per BAL, this is the apparent second issue, in a pale greenish-grey cloth and no gilt top edge (and in our experience, scarcer than the first issue). This copy mildly ex-private library, with a small contemporary paper label on the spine, an institutional bookplate to the front paste-down, small owner's label to the front flyleaf, and a stamp to the title page, else unmarked. In good condition overall, with the inner hinges starting, wear to the spine ends, and the corners. Highly uncommon compared to Dunbar's poetry volumes, this novel tells the story of an emancipated Black family in the south whose bonds begin to fray as they move north for opportunities, and encounter difficulties adjusting to city life. This was the first on Dunbar's novels to explicitly feature African-Americans as the main characters (Gayle, "Oak and Ivy," p. 151). Though ex-library, still a desirable copy of this scarce and under-studied novel by Dunbar. Metcalf, p. 3., Merle Johnson p. 109, BAL 4939.

Seller: Cleveland Book Company, ABAA, Rocky River, OH, U.S.A.