MAPPLETHORPE, Robert; Ntozake SHANGE ( introductory poem ). Robert Mapplethorpe Black Book.

MAPPLETHORPE, Robert; Ntozake SHANGE (introductory poem). Robert Mapplethorpe Black Book. New York: St. Martin’s Press. 1986. 4to. Original black cloth, lettered in silver to spine, in photo-illustrated dust-jacket; pp. [14], 91, [5]; black and white photo-illustrations throughout; minor discolouration to edges of boards, jacket with some wear to extremities; one light stain to lower edge of pastedown and rear front free endpaper; near fine in like dustjacket; signed by Mapplethorpe in black ink to half-title. First edition, third impression, signed by Robert Mapplethorpe. Containing an introductory poem by the American poet and activist Ntozake Shange, Black Book offers a striking and tender study of Black masculinity. This publication reproduces portraits of scores of subjects, some of whom were photographed by Mapplethorpe over several years. Shot both in and outside the studio, these photographs celebrate the diversity and humanity of Black men in contemporary America. SKU: 2125382