THE AMERICAN MERCURY

H. L. Mencken, EDITOR • Alfred A. Knopf, PUBLISHER • Samuel Knopf, BUSINESS MANAGER

730 FIFTH AVENUE • NEW YORK

Cable: KNOPF NEW YORK
Telephones: CIRCLE 7670

December 6, 1927

Dear Jim:

I have in preparation for publication at an early date a volume containing eight to twelve articles that have appeared in The American Mercury. The edition will be limited to not more than six hundred and fifty copies and the book will not be sold but given away to advertisers and members of the advertising profession.

May I have your permission to include in this volume your article entitled GO DOWN DEATH which was printed in the April 1927 issue? The copyright is of course, entirely yours, but I hope you feel sufficiently friendly toward The American Mercury to be able to grant this request. On receipt of your consent I shall send you as a token of our appreciation of your consideration, a check for twenty-five dollars, and when it is ready, a copy of the book.

James Weldon Johnson, Esq.
69 Fifth Avenue
New York City
a

P.S. Of course I am asking only for permission to reprint in this one limited edition. Your right to reprint elsewhere would in no case be affected.

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NEWCOMB CARLTON, PRESIDENT

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ZQ NEWYORK NY 1132A JUN 17 1929

JAMES W JOHNSON

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HEARTIEST CONGRATULATIONS AND ALL GOOD WISHES

BLANCHE ALFRED AND PAT

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ALFRED·A·KNOPF·Inc

730 FIFTH AVENUE
New York

Office of the President

May 9, 1930

Dear Jim,

Carl tells me that you will write an introduction to the new illustrated edition of NIGGER HEAVEN. I am delighted.

I cannot offer you more than the very nominal fee of fifty dollars for this because the book is going to be so very expensive to manufacture, and is by no means assured of a profitable sale. But it will be a nice celebration of Carl's fiftieth birthday, and I know you have interesting remarks to make about the book.

I hope to see you soon and in the meantime to have the pleasure of reading BLACK MANHATTAN.

With kindest regards, I am

Yours always,

James Weldon Johnson Esq.
187 West 135 Street
New York, N. Y.

aak s

ALFRED A. KNOPF, Inc.

730 FIFTH AVENUE
New York

Office of the President

May 23, 1930

Dear Jim,

I find that Mencken would be
willing to print in the Mercury an
article cut out of BLACK MANHATTAN
dealing with the early minstrels to
the heyday of Burt Williams.

If we let him do this--the
price to you would, I believe, be
one hundred and fifty dollars--it
would mean postponing the books for
a couple of months at least.

I will do whatever you say,
but will you please let me know your
preference by return.

James Weldon Johnson
Seekonk Road
Great Barrington, Mass.

aak s

Since writing the above, Ettie Stettheimer has
convinced me that we would be best advised to
turn down Eidlitz's novel.

AAK

WALTHER EIDLITZ

LUNZ AM SEE. 5.1.31
N.-ÖST.

Verehrter Mr James Weldon Johnson !

Aus Ihrem wunderbaren Buch "Autobiography of an Ex-
coloured Man" glaube ich entnehmen zu können, dass Sie deutsch ver-
stehen und so möchte ich meinem Wunsch nicht länger widerstreben, Ihnen
zu sagen, mit welch grosser Liebe ich mehrmals Ihr Buch gelesen habe.
Ich empfand es menschlich und dichterisch gleich bedeutend und beson-
ders der ruhevolle, schlichte Schluss hat mich immer wieder zu Tränen
erschüttert, und es war mir uberaus wichtig, der Negerfrage, die uns
Europäern ja recht weitab liegt, durch Ihr Buch ernst in das schmerz-
liche Antlitz blicken zu können.

Wenn es Ihnen nicht zu viel Mühle macht, deutsch zu
lesen, und wenn Sie Interesse dafür hätten, würe es mir eine wahre
Freude, wenn ich Ihnen meinen neuen Roman"Zodiak" senden dürfte. Es
ist die Wanderung, der Entwicklungsgang eines jungen Griechenknaben
aus der Nachkriegszeit von Osten nach Westen, vom Inneren Kleinasiens
nach Amerika, dem"Gelobten Land" der Maschinen.

In diesem Frühjahr beabsichtige ich mit meiner Frau
auf einige Zeit nach Amerika zu fahren, um die Fortsetzung dieses Ro-
mans, die in Amerika spielen wird, schreiben zu können. Ich würde mich
aufrichtig freuen, wenn ich Sie kennen lernen dürfte.

Ich schrieb bereits anlässlich der in Frage kommenden
Ubersetzung meines Buches "Zodiak" an Ihren Verleger Alfred A Knopff,
dass ich mich gern bemühen möchte, eine deutsche Ausgabe Ihres Buches
in einem erstklassigen hiesigen Verlag durchzusetzen. Ich glaube, es
wäre gut, wenn Europa dieses Autobiographie kennen lernen würde. Ich

September 29, 1933

Dear Alfred:

When I saw you last I promised to send you certain
corrections that ought to be made in the context of
Black Manhattan in case there should be necessity for
a reprinting of the book. The following changes should
be made:

On page 56, line 20, the date "1905" should be
changed to "1895".

On page 129, line 28, the words "they were"
should be changed to read "it was".

On page 248, line 11, the word "subject" should
be in the plural, i.e., "subjects".

On page 253, line 13, the word "mob" should be
changed to "crowd".

Page 254, line 23, the word "provincial" should
be changed to "provisional".

Page 255, line 25, the words "Long Live" should
be changed to "God Save".

On page 15, I find it necessary to make a change
in phraseology: The clause beginning with line
22 should be changed to read - "was the first
pastor of the Liberty Street Presbyterian church".

As you can see, all of these changes are important and
should be made, if there is a reprint.

With kindest regards, I am

Mr. Alfred A. Knopf
730 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York

JWJ:fmm

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ALFRED A. KNOPF, Inc.

730 FIFTH AVENUE
New York

Office of the President

September 26, 1935.

Dear Jim:

I am sending you an advance copy of Geoffrey Gorer's AFRICA DANCES which I think will be of particular interest to you. Carl does too. If you feel like giving us a blurb about it, by all means do so.

My best to you and Grace and here's hoping
we'll meet soon.

Yours always,
Aunt

James Weldon Johnson, Esq.
Great Barrington
Mass.

k

TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE

31

# AFRICA DANCES

by GEOFFREY GORER

This is one of the extraordinary travel books of our time. It is the work of an adventurer who happens also to be an intelligent man. Thus it has not only such qualities as freshness, excitement, and power in the description of strange scenes and incidents, but also the enduring value and substance of such a work as Margaret Mead's *Coming of Age in Samoa*.

Mr. Gorer met in Paris Benga, the famous Negro dancer, who was planning a visit to West Africa to study the native dances in the districts most remote from civilization. He suggested that they go together, and last year they set out by car, accompanied by two Negro chauffeurs, on a tour which zigzagged through the French colonies, the French and British mandates, and the Gold Coast. They went into towns rarely visited by white men, lived with the natives, saw dances and ceremonies never before studied.

His book is a record of this fascinating journey, and at the same time a study of the government and religion, the sex-life and marriage-ritual, habits and customs, and the emotional and mental character of these West African Negroes. Moreover it is a devastating exposure of French imperialism, recalling in its vivid and indignant picture of conditions the *Travels in the Congo* of André Gide. All of this, however, is blended into a single narrative of intense interest, skillfully written and enlivened with a biting wit. It is a book that the intelligent reader will find absorbing. Professor Bronislaw Malinowski, the distinguished anthropologist and author of *The Sexual Life of Savages*, has praised its study of primitive life. *Time and Tide* (of London) has praised its description of the dances. The London *Sunday Times* has praised its relation of "marvels that

32

TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE

exceed almost anything reported in the travellers' tales of
many years past." But all of them have praised its sheer
readability.

A PARTIAL LIST OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS

(Photographs by the Author and Benga)

Peulh, Bobo and Haoussa Women
Circumcision Dance

A Funeral Concert Near Djougou

Yahi, The Last of the Amazons

Sacrifice of Bull to Thunder Fetish

Fetish Worshippers in a Trance

Dead Men Dancing

Monkey Dancers and Bird Musicians

Totem Dancers at Javara

Professional Girl Dancers

The Dead Cannibal

Dapango War Dance

Cabrai Architecture

Wrestlers

A Mixture of Brueghel and Bedlam

(5¾ x 8⅞ inches, cloth, 340 pages, with 62 illustrations and 5 maps. To be published in October.)
$3.50 net

April 30, 1957

Mr. Alfred A. Knopf
501 Madison Avenue
New York City

My dear Alfred:

Your letter of the twenty-first reached me when I was just recovering from a very serious illness. I am still pretty far from being my old self. That is the reason for the delay in replying to you.

I know of course, that the sales of The Autobiography of An Ex-Colored Man and Black Manhattan have slowed down considerably during the years. Nevertheless I note that the sales for the year 1956 show some improvement over the sales for the year 1955. In 1956 The Autobiography sold 287 copies and in the same year Black Manhattan sold 87 copies. In 1955 The Autobiography sold 94 copies and Black Manhattan 76 copies. The two books sold considerably more last year than they did in 1954 when the sales of The Autobiography dropped to 29 copies and Black Manhattan to 70. These figures show a slight indication that The Autobiography may be taking on a little new life.

At any rate I wish you would let this matter stand as it is until I get to New York, which will be within the next five or six weeks and that you will let me drop in and talk the matter over with you. In fact I am now more interested in the books being kept in print than I am in such royalties as they might earn for me.

With best wishes to you and Blanche in which Grace joins me, I am

J&J:ew

ALFRED A. KNOPF, Inc.

501 MADISON AVENUE
New York

May 4, 1937

Dear Jim:

I have your letter of April 30. First of all, I am frightfully sorry to hear that you have been seriously ill. I hope you are fast recovering and completely.

Don't let the question of these two books disturb you in any way. When you come to New York give me a ring -- you'll want to see our new offices -- and we'll talk the matter over. There isn't the slightest reason for you to accept the suggestion I made unless you really wanted to.

With my best to you and Grace, I am

James Weldon Johnson, Esq.
Fisk University
Nashville, Tennessee

b

ALFRED·A·KNOPF, Inc.

501 MADISON AVENUE
New York

June 16, 1937.

Dear Jim,

We are about to reprint a modest
edition of THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN EX-COLOURED MAN
and I am wondering if you want to add anything to
it -- a new introduction perhaps . . . I don't
know.

I am hoping to see you tomorrow evening
and perhaps you can tell me what you think --
otherwise drop me a line.

James Weldon Johnson, Esq.
Great Barrington
Massachusetts

k

ALFRED A. KNOPF, Inc.

501 MADISON AVENUE
New York

June 30, 1937.

Dear Jim,

Thanks for yours of the 28th. I return
Carlo's letter herewith. I think he is absolutely
right, but that you ought to decide in the end just
how much new material you would like to introduce
into the new edition.

With my best, I am

James Weldon Johnson, Esq.
Five Acres
Seekonk Road
Great Barrington, Massachusetts

k

ALFRED A. KNOPF, Inc.

501 MADISON AVENUE
New York

July 28, 1937

Dear Jim,

Unfortunately, I am leaving town tonight and probably won't be back until a week from Tuesday. I'm terribly sorry, but you will be coming in to town again later on, when we will be able to meet.

My best to you and Grace.

Mr. James Weldon Johnson
Five Acres
Seekonk Road
Great Barrington, Mass.

b

ALFRED A. KNOPE, Inc.

501 MADISON AVENUE
New York

September 13, 1937

Dear Jim,

We'll get in touch with Miss Mountain and
see what we can do. Thank you for bringing the
matter to our attention.

Do you know anything about a Negro poet
named Robert E. Hayden? He has sent in a manu-
script which is not bad by any means, but poetry
is a pretty poor bet these days unless the author
is likely to develop into something really worth
while.

My best to you and Grace.

James Weldon Johnson, Esq.
Five Acres
Seekonk Road
Great Barrington, Mass.

b