(WWI) JORDAN WALKER H With “Old Eph” In The Army (Not a Hist

Sale 2377 - Lot 439

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Estimate: $ 1,500 - $ 2,500

WITH TWO ORIGINAL PHOTOS OF THE AUTHOR (WWI.) JORDAN, WALKER H. With 'Old Eph' In The Army (Not a History): A Simple Treatise on the Human Side of The Colored Soldier. Three full page inserted plates. 51 pages, plus Epilogue. Small 4to, original printed wrappers with yapped edges; some light wear; one corner creased where folded over. with two photographs of Jordan, one of them signed by the author. Baltimore, circa 1919

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an exceptional narrative with two original photographs of the author. One, is a 'real photo postcard' posed by African American photographer Arthur Macbeth in his studio. It is signed by the author, and shows him as a young recruit. The other, a 5 x 7 silver print (matted and framed) is by Addison Scurlock of Washington D.C. and shows Jordan posed with a loving cup given him by Headquarters Company 351st Field Artillery. Jordan now bears sergeant's stripes. His account is much more than the experience of a black soldier in the 'Great War,' it is an extraordinarily well-written story of forbearance in the face of prejudice. Jordan is recounts how the colored soldier was treated before, during and after the war, with a scathing, but surprisingly not bitter criticism of the High Command's handling of colored officers at the end of the war, and a plea for racial understanding in the face of a common enemy. 'Eph' was a term coined in France by a white officer and 'couched in scorn and sarcasm for everything colored.' The term was transformed by the 'valorous deeds' of the colored soldier and transformed itself into a friendly and positive thing. rare, only four copies are located: brooklyn public library, library of congress, wisconsin historical, and st. louis public library.