Davis, Angela Yvonne (1944 - ); Toni Morrison (Ed.)
Angela Davis: An Autobiography ; [Association copy belonging to William and Mary Kardash, noted early Canadian Communists]
New York, Random House [Bernard Geis Associates], 1974. First Edition, Second Printing. Hardcover. pp. x, 400, [1]. 8vo. Publisher's bright red cloth over boards with black lettering to the spine, blindstamped borders, raised lettering of the author's name in italic script to the front board; black endpapers, untrimmed foredge. Very faint sunning to the lower-margin of the front boards, otherwise, extremities without blemish, and with firm, sound binding; near fine and housed in its original pictorial, price-clipped, dustjacket showing the slightest wear to the upper-edge of the front panel, "10/74" to the base of the inner-flap of the rear panel (dustjacket now housed in protective mylar cover). A thoroughly lovely edition of Davis' remarkable political testimonial, published when she was merely 30 years old, and under the editorial stewardship of none other than the great Toni Morrison with an interesting provenance. Immediate provenance: deaccessioned from the archives of the Manitoba branch of the Communist Party of Canada. Association copy from the private library of William "Bill" Kardash (1912–1997) and his wife and political collaborator Mary Kardash [née Kostaniuk] (1912–1994), bearing their private ownership stamp to the half-title leaf. SIGNED and dated ("May 1975") in ink by Mary Kardash to the upper-right margin of the half-title page. Married in 1940, the Kardash's were prominent early Canadian communists. William, a veteran of the Spanish Civil War, fought with the Mackenzie–Papineau Battalion against Franco’s forces before returning to Canada, where he became one of the first elected communist legislators, serving as a Manitoba MLA from 1941 to 1958—first under the banner of the Worker’s Candidate, later as a representative of the Labor-Progressive Party. Mary distinguished herself as a tireless political organizer, labor activist, and advocate for women’s rights. She served as secretary of the Winnipeg branch of the Canadian-Soviet Friendship Society and, in 1949, traveled to Moscow as part of the Canadian delegation from the Congress of Canadian Women to the Women's International Democratic Federation (WIDF), a post-war alliance of women's organizations from the Communist bloc. Together, they would play a significant role in progressive Canadian politics, leaving a lasting impact on labor movements, social justice, and international solidarity efforts.

Black’s Fine Books & Manuscripts
Professional sellerBook number: 7245
USD 245.00 [Appr.: EURO 215.5 | £UK 183 | JP¥ 34924]
Keywords: socialism; american history; manitoba history; association copy; communist party of canada; local history