Montage of a Dream Deferred: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A hardcover, first edition of Montage of a Dream Deferred written by Langston Hughes, with a bright yellow paper dustjacket. The jacket features artwork by Walter Miles with twisting, vertical ribbons in black and grey extending across the front. The printed signature of the artist is in the top right corner. Printed at center in large black text is the title [Montage of / a dream deferred] and [LANGSTON HUGHES / author: SHAKESPEARE IN HARLEM / SIMPLE SPEAKS HIS MIND]. A white label with library call number is located at the bottom of the spine between the title and publisher [HOLT] name. On the reverse of the jacket is a large black-and-white photograph of Langston Hughes. He is captured smiling, standing with one foot on a wooden chair, leaning forward with his elbow resting on his bent knee. A short biography printed in black text is centered below the image with additional on the interior jacket flaps. The hardcover book has a black, cased cloth binding with red bold lettering over its spine. The dedication page reads "To Ralph and Fanny Ellison." The contents consist of 91 individually titled poems comprising a single poem in a jazz poetry style. The last numbered page is 75.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1951
• Written by: Langston Hughes, American, 1902 - 1967
• Published by: Henry Holt and Company, American, founded 1866
• Subject of: Ralph Ellison, American, 1913 - 1994
• Illustrated by: Walter Miles, 1907 - 1999
• Type: book jackets
• Type: hardcover books
• Medium: ink on wove wood pulp paper with cloth and cardboard
• Dimensions: H x W x D (closed): 8 9/16 × 5 7/8 × 1 in. (21.7 × 15 × 2.5 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (open): 8 9/16 × 12 × 1 in. (21.7 × 30.5 × 2.5 cm)
• Place depicted: Harlem, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Place printed: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Communities
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Literature
• Topic: Poetry
• Topic: Race discrimination
• Topic: Urban life
• Object number: 2024.118.3
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Tom Liljenquist
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Estate of Langston Hughes Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.