LANGSTON HUGHES & ROY DECARAVA | The Sweet Flypaper of Life - first printing

"We've had so many books about how bad life is," Langston Hughes says, "Maybe it's time to have one showing how good it is.” - from the back cover

The Classic capturing the essence of life in Harlem through the lens of vibrant imagery and soul-stirring prose. Imagine strolling down the bustling streets of 1950s Harlem, painted by the words of Langston Hughes and the evocative photographs of Roy DeCarava, where every page is a portal to a bygone era, yet eternally relevant.

First printing, 1955. 

Tight softcover.  Moderate wear to spine around lettering. Very minor wear to corners. Minimal toning to cover and page edges. Very slight lean to spine. Very good condition.

In 1952 DeCarava began photographing Harlem as a Guggenheim Fellow. He was the the first African-American photographer to win the award. He showed his photos to Langston Hughes. In order to get a photobook published, Hughes wrote the fictional narrative to accompany the photos. Hughes selected 140 photos for the book.

His story is narrated by the fictional Sister Mary Bradley, a grandmother of ten living in Harlem. The story and DeCarava and Hughes collaboration begins after the US Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.

Selected by Martin Parr and Gerry Badger for "The Photobook : A History Volume I". They write, "It is also a book that had more impact in its cheaper paperback edition, since radically, Hughes's text begins on the cover"

Selected by Andrew Roth as one of the 101 most seminal photobooks of the 21st century. Roth writes "one of the most successful collaborations between a great writer and a great photographer every published."

4.1 x 7.1 inches