{"product_id":"the-harlem-book-of-the-dead","title":"The Harlem Book of the Dead","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOriginally published in 1978, The Harlem Book of the Dead is a haunting and beautiful document of Black funerary traditions in Harlem, capturing the community's mourning rituals through the lens of one of the Harlem Renaissance's most celebrated photographers. The publication is the most complete record of Van Der Zee's funerary photographs, featuring over three dozen portraits by the artist, who meticulously composed the setting and the subjects before using his renowned darkroom and retouching skills to superimpose celestial figures, poetry, biblical scenes or portraits onto the images to compensate for lack of adornments, such as flowers, or to fulfill the requests of his subjects or their families. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThese portraits are complemented and captioned by poems from Owen Dodson and a wide-ranging interview with Van Der Zee by the sculptor and filmmaker Camille Billops, who conceptualized and edited the publication. This facsimile edition reproduces the printing and specifications of the 1978 publication. The original foreword by Toni Morrison is included, and accompanied by a newly commissioned afterword by Karla FC Holloway, author of the canonical Passed On (2001). \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJames Van Der Zee (1886–1983) began working as a photographer in 1915, and by the following year had opened his photography studio on West 135th Street in Harlem. His images of Black New Yorkers, together with celebrities such as Langston Hughes, Joe Louis and Marcus Garvey, form an indelible corpus of images of the Harlem Renaissance.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePaperback. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e104 pages\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"James Van Der Zee","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47617376911515,"sku":null,"price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1913\/2769\/files\/58cf5a0e55267828732c3cbaa0bbe455bb6adc06530f381e3ef499a072769ac4.jpg?v=1764132011","url":"https:\/\/thefuturempls.com\/products\/the-harlem-book-of-the-dead","provider":"The Future Mpls","version":"1.0","type":"link"}