Overview

Available for the first time since 1978, The Harlem Book of the Dead showcases James Van Der Zee's unflinching creative vision Originally 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. These 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). James 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.

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Reviews

Van Der Zee's gelatin silver prints are novel for recognizing the value of photographing Black deaths and the rituals that accompany them early, as well as for the narrative-structuring he presented that turned their deaths into richly-layered visual stories.--Naomi Elias ""The Brooklyn Rail""

[Immortalizes] a forgotten cultural touchstone...--Maggie Turner ""Air Mail"" Just as Van Der Zee wanted to make his living subjects look a little better than they did, he wanted death--or, more accurately, grief--to look better than it was.--Hilton Als ""The New Yorker"" Van Der Zee helped commit Black Harlem, its people and its outings, to record. And there is no greater affirmation, this collection would suggest, than in its final ritual.--Walker Mimms ""The New York Times Book Review"" Van Der Zee's gelatin silver prints are novel for recognizing the value of photographing Black deaths and the rituals that accompany them early, as well as for the narrative-structuring he presented that turned their deaths into richly-layered visual stories.--Naomi Elias ""The Brooklyn Rail""

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