Native Son. By Richard Wright. Illustrated by Alan Reingold. Collector’s Edition. Easton Press. Norwalk, 1998.

Richard Wright was one of the most talented and impactful authors in American history. He was born in Mississippi, but like many Black Americans in the mid-twentieth century, he joined the Great Migration out of the Jim Crow South, moving instead to Chicago. It was there his literary genius flourished. He met fellow writers Ralph Ellison, Margaret Walker, Langston Hughes, and many others. He produced some of the best fiction of the century. His novels Native Son and Black Boy became bestsellers and helped to garner support for Black rights in America in the years leading up to the Civil Rights Movement. Native Son is particularly important to his legacy as his first published novel. It follows the protagonist Bigger Thomas who endures poverty and oppression in Chicago’s South Side. The work was an instant bestseller, surprising critics of a racially divided United States. Yet none could deny Wright’s mastery of character and prose. It remains one of the best novels of the twentieth century.

This collector’s edition is in fine condition. In the original tan leather, elaborately gilt stamped. Raised bands. Gilt spine label. Text block fine. Gilt edges. Silk moire endpapers and bookmark sewn in. This copy with the publisher’s original pamphlet and bookplate laid in.

A fine collector’s copy of Native Son.