<I>If He Hollers Let Him Go</I>
date: label: Date
content: 1945
name: label: Written by
content: Chester Himes, American, 1909 - 1984
label: Published by
content: Doubleday & Company Inc., American, founded 1897
label: Printed by
content: Country Life Press, American
notes: label: Caption
content: Chester Himes’ literary legacy has been largely forgotten, particularly outside literary circles. But before there was Walter Mosley, there was Chester Himes (1909 – 1984), whose seminal mid-20th century detective novels laid the foundation for African American urban crime fiction of today. If He Hollers Let Him Go (1945) is significant, not as a crime novel, but paradoxically as Himes’ very first novel, one he penned nine years after his release from prison for armed robbery, a crime committed in real life.
label: Description
content: A hardcover first edition of If He Hollers Let Him Go. Published in 1945, Chester Himes’s first (fiction) novel examines the conflicted position of its protagonist, who finds himself entangled in the traumas of racism and corrupt bureaucracy while working at a Los Angeles defense plant during the second World War. The book is protected by a plastic-covered yellow (front) and white (reverse) dust jacket. In large red bold font, the front reads: [CHESTER B. / HIMES / If He / Hollers / Let Him / Go / A NOVEL]. The same print is found on the yellow spine. On the reverse side of the dust jacket, the Doubleday Doran & Company Incorporated ship logo features at the top right corner. Beside the logo on the right, in large black print, is: [Towards a better / Understanding . . .]. Four novel synopses, also published by Doubleday Doran & Company Incorporated, are advertised on the remainder of the jacket.
place: label: Place depicted
content: Los Angeles, California, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Literature
label: Topic
content: Race relations
label: Topic
content: World War II
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Books and Published Materials
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2018.46.4
objectType: label: Type
content: hardcover books
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Chester B. Himes
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: ink on wove paper and cardboard
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 7 3/4 × 5 7/16 × 7/8 in. (19.7 × 13.8 × 2.3 cm)