Helen Watson was the daughter of an army chaplain whose work took his family to many parts of the British Empire. Born in Edinburgh in the 1860's, Helen went to live in Madeira when she was two, was taught by her father until age ten, and then sent back to Scotland to be educated. In 1889 Helen Watson married William Bannerman, a surgeon in the Indian medical service of the British army, with whom she she lived in India for the next 30 years. In 1898 after a trip to visit her two daughters being educated in Scotland, she wrote a "picture letter" to her daughters to while away the tedium of the journey and, as she said, to comfort herself for the absence of her family. Friends persuaded her to have the story published. Small in size, "because as a child, she had always wanted a book she could hold in her own tiny hands," Little Black Sambo has remained popular ever since. She was about 83 when she died on October 13, 1946.
LOGANBERRY LEGACY
Little Black Sambo: you know the
story. Despite all the debates circulating around it, it is still very
popular, both with collectors of vintage Black memorabilia, as well as
those who just remember liking the story when they were kids. There's even
a Little Golden Book version that seems to strike many memory chords.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
* designates a title still in print
*The Story of Little Black Sambo.
NY: Stokes, 1900.
The Story of Little Black Mingo.
NY: Stokes, 1902.
The Story of Little Black Quibba.
NY: Stokes, 1903.
The Story of Little Kettlehead.
NY: Stokes, 1903.
Pat and the Spider. London:
Nisbet, 1905.
The Story of the Teasing Monkey.
NY: Stokes, 1907.
The Story of Little Black Quasha.
NY: Stokes, 1908.
The Story of Little Black Bobtail.
NY: Stokes, 1909.
The Story of Sambo and the Twins.
NY: Stokes, 1936.
The Story of Little White Sqibba.
NY: Stokes, 1966. [parody]
Some Variant Illustrators of Little Black Sambo
Bennett, Juanita. Whitman, 1939.
Jordan, Nina. Whitman, 1932.
Peat, Fern Bisel. American Crayon, 1943.
Price, Margaret Evans. McNally, 1936
Russell, Judith. Cherokee, 1995..
Russell, Mary Lafetra. Gabriel, c. 1920
Thurston, Clara Bell. Whitman, 1926.
Ver Beck, Frank. Platt & Munk, 1930
Wehr, Julian. Duenewald, 1943.
Wiese, Kurt. Garden City, 1933.
Modern Re-tellings of Little Black Sambo
Lester, Julius. Sam and the Tigers: A New Telling
of Little Black Sambo. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney.
Dial Books, 1996.
THE
STORY OF LITTLE BLACK SAMBO, with twenty-seven illustrations,
Henry Altemus Company, Philadelphia, no date but obviously early 20th century.
This is part of the Altemus' Wee Books for Wee Folks series. Every opening
has a full color illustration facing a page of simple text. The illustrations
are the same as those drawn by the author Helen Bannerman for the original
edition. This copy is about 4" x 5-1/2" and in very good condition,
considering its age and popularity. There are no tears or marks,
but there is overall soiling and wear, especially on the covers.
The endpapers are decorated, and there is a small edge tear on the front
free endpaper, and some evidence of glue repair to the rear hinge.
Desirable early copy. <SOLD>
HISTOIRE
DU PETIT NEGRE SAMBO, par Helen Bannerman, Traduit de l'anglais
par Madeleine Bleriot Johnson, Frederick A. Stokes Company, publishers,
1921. This red cloth-covered copy is 4"x6" in very good condition.
The paper picture paste-on on the cover is worn, and there are occasional
spots of soil or tiny tears on some pages, but overall the interior is
bright and clean and lovely. French version, but printed in America.
This is the classic illustrated edition familiar to all collectors of children's
books. <SOLD>
LITTLE
BLACK SAMBO, ANIMATED! ANIMATED!, by Helen Bannerman, animations
by Julian Wehr, Duenwald Printing Corporation, 1949. Board
covers with spiral binding, 16 pages with color illustrations on each one,
4 pages with movable parts (mostly in fine working order, but there are
some imperfections), very good condition, no marks or tears, first 2 leaves
coming away from spiral binding at bottom four rings (others well attached).
This is a very amusing edition of the story, with great pictures! <SOLD>
LITTLE
BLACK SAMBO, twenty-four full page colored illustrations, M.A.
Donohue & Company, Chicago, no date but probably about 1930.
Book measures about 6"x8" and is in good condition, which means it has
some problems. The rear hinge has been taped and there is tape residue
on that leaf on both sides at the hinge area. There are also some
tears to page bottoms, but none of these affect the color pictures.
The title page is somewhat foxed, but this does not detract from a book
full of large and charming pictures, whose artist is not named. This
is a well-loved copy of a classic edition. <SOLD>
LITTLE
BLACK SAMBO, by Helen Bannerman, Pictures by Eulalie, The
Platt & Munk Co, NY, 1955 (latest date). 7" x 8", 28 pages, full
color plates and smaller color and b&w illustrations, about half each
of color and b&w. This copy in very good condition, crisp, clean
and unmarked with no tears. There are charming decorative endpapers,
with two remnants of child's stickers on rear free endpaper. Lovely.
<SOLD>
