WASHINGTON, Booker T. (1856-1915). Up from Slavery: An Autobiography. New York: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1901.

8vo. Photographic frontispiece portrait. (Minor offsetting of portrait to title-page.) Original maroon cloth gilt (slight rubbing to corners and boards, tiny abrasion to rear board edge).

FIRST EDITION of the second of Washington's books published in his lifetime, which was a highly influential bestseller. Prompted by the work's success, President Theodore Roosevelt invited Washington to be his guest at a dinner at the White House October 1901, where he joined other guests. Although US presidents had previously hosted Black guests including Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth, Washington's visit drew scrutiny from the Southern press partly because of the equal footing Roosevelt extended to Washington. The vitriolic response ensured that no other African American was invited to dinner at the White House for nearly 30 years.