Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life among the Lowly. Introduction by Raymond Weaver.

About this Item

One of 1500 copies illustrated with 16 lithographs by Miguel Covarrubias, signed by the artist on the colophon page. Folio, original half morocco over marbled paper covered boards, lettered in gilt on spine, a near fine copy in original slipcase. Miguel Covarrubias was a Mexican artist and ethnologist and the co-discoverer of the Olmec civilization. Miguel's artwork and celebrity caricatures were featured in The New Yorker and Vanity Fair magazines. The linear nature of his drawing style was highly influential to other caricaturists such as Al Hirschfeld. Miguel's first book of caricatures The Prince of Wales and Other Famous Americans was a hit, though not all his subjects were thrilled that his sharp, pointed wit was aimed at them. He fell in love with the Harlem jazz scene, which he frequented with his wife Rosa and friends including Eugene O'Neill and Nickolas Muray. He counted many notables among his friends including Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes and W.C. Handy for whom he also illustrated books. Miguel's caricatures of the jazz clubs were the first of their kind printed in Vanity Fair. He managed to capture the spirit of the Harlem Renaissance in much of his work as well as in his book, Negro Drawings. He did not consider these caricatures, but serious drawings of people, music and a culture he loved. Covarrubias also did illustrations for George Macy, the publisher of The Limited Editions Club, including, as here, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and also Green Mansions, Herman Melville's Typee, and Pearl Buck's All Men Are Brothers. Seller Inventory # 37858

Contact seller

Report this item

Bibliographic Details