8vo. Photographic frontispiece portrait. Original maroon cloth gilt, top edge gilt (spine lightly sunned, gilt on upper cover touched up, slight lean). Provenance: gift inscription on front free endpaper dated 1901.

FIRST EDITION of the second of Washington's books, published in his lifetime, which was a highly influential bestseller. Prompted by the work's success, President Theodore Roosevelt invited Washington to be his guest at a White House dinner in October 1901, where he joined other guests. Although US presidents had previously hosted Black guests, including Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth, Washington's visit drew scrutiny from the Southern press, partly because of the equal footing Roosevelt extended to Washington. The vitriolic response ensured that no other African American was invited to dinner at the White House for nearly 30 years.