<I>Color</I>
date: label: Date
content: 1925
name: label: Written by
content: Countee Cullen, American, 1903 - 1946
label: Published by
content: Harper & Brothers, American, 1817 - 1962
notes: label: Caption
content: Countee Cullen (1903 – 1946) was a leading literary figure in the Harlem Renaissance. He published Color in 1925, the same year he graduated from New York University and began a master's program at Harvard University. Written in the Romantic style, Color is a poetic exploration of the black experience, its beauty, the effects of racism and segregation, and religious frustrations. Many of the poems were previously published in various literary magazines and had already made Countee Cullen a well-recognized literary figure. Color is thought to be his most well-regarded work.
label: Caption
content: Cullen finished his Master’s in English at Harvard in 1926, and by 1929 he published three more volumes of his own poems and edited poetry by other African Americans. In 1928, he was awarded the Guggenheim fellowship to write poetry while in France. In 1932, Cullen published his only novel, One Way to Heaven, a social comedy of lower-class blacks and the bourgeoisie in New York City. From 1934 until the end of his life in 1946, he taught English, French, and creative writing at Frederick Douglass Junior High School in New York City.
label: Caption
content: In this particular first-edition copy of Color, there is a handwritten poem in pencil and ink on one of the pages in the front of the book, near the publishing information page. This poem is written to Countee Cullen, signed by The Faun, and discussed how Cullen’s poems can move all people, no matter their skin color. This letter was copied in both the Chicago Tribune and in The Crisis magazine’s October 1926 issue.
label: Description
content: A hardcover first edition book of poetry titled Color, written by Countee Cullen. The book has a bright yellow cloth bound spine and front and back printed paper covers in a geometric pattern of red, white, yellow, and blue shapes. At the top of the front cover is a yellow square with a thin black inner border and the title [COLOR] in large black text followed by the author [COUNTEE CULLEN] in slightly smaller text.
label: Description
content: On the flyleaf is a handwritten poem by an anonymous author, written as a letter to Countee Cullen, and signed “The Faun.” This is followed by the half-title, title page, copyright, dedication, acknowledgements, and table of contents. A preface in the form of a poem titled “To You Who Read My Book,” precedes the poems, which are organized into three sections, “Color,” “Epitaphs,” “For Love’s Sake,” and “Varia.” Included is an epitaph for Paul Laurence Dunbar, and a memorial poem for Colonel Charles Young. There are 108 pages, without illustration or other ornamentation. The interior of the front cover has a black-and-white bookplate with a crest and [Scattergood 1664].
place: label: Place printed
content: New York, New York, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Health
label: Topic
content: Identity
label: Topic
content: LGBTQ
label: Topic
content: Mental health
label: Topic
content: Poetry
label: Topic
content: Race discrimination
label: Topic
content: Religion
label: Topic
content: Segregation
label: Topic
content: Violence
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Movement
content: Harlem Renaissance (New Negro Movement)
label: Exhibition
content: Cultural Expressions
label: On View
content: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Culture/Fourth Floor, 4 050
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Micky and Linda West
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2023.40
objectType: label: Type
content: documents
label: Type
content: books
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Public domain
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: ink on wove paper and cardboard with synthetic fiber
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (closed): 7 13/16 × 5 3/8 × 13/16 in. (19.8 × 13.6 × 2 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (open): 7 13/16 × 10 13/16 × 13/16 in. (19.8 × 27.4 × 2 cm)