Li'l' Gal

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Li’l’ Gal by Paul Laurence Dunbar (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1904)
Margaret Neilson Armstrong (1867 – 1944), binding designer
M. G. Sawyer Collection of Decorative Bindings, Helen Farr Sloan Library and Archives, Delaware Art Museum

When approached by Dodd, Mead & Co. to produce a fourth book, the Hampton Institute Camera Club declined due to the proposed timeline – the publishers asked for a new book in April 1904, to be completed by July. Leigh Richmond Miner (1864 – 1935), an art teacher at Hampton and a major contributor to the books, jumped at the chance to do the work himself.

Although Miner was the sole photographer, the publications continued to be linked to the Hampton Institute Camera Club. This association served both the school and Dunbar, as it linked the famous poet with the well-regarded school.

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Title page, not dated, from Li’l’ Gal by Paul Laurence Dunbar (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1903)
Margaret Neilson Armstrong (1867 – 1944)
M. G. Sawyer Collection of Decorative Bindings, Helen Farr Sloan Library and Archives, Delaware Art Museum