1961 African American Advertising Circular & Guide Book/New Jersey/Black Culture

From an estate sale in New Jersey. It's a real time capsule. Small, but interesting - 4.25 inches by 5.5 inches. I believe this is new old stock. Seven sheets folded held together with one staple. 7x4 pages = 28 pages. Presumably these were made, distributed then thrown in the trash. Quite rare advertising circular for the black community in New Jersey. This guide has it all. Photos of local businesses, ads for barbershops, hair salons, night clubs, mechanics, bars, etc. The articles are full of jazz musicians and civil rights issues. In great condition too - some pages are a little lighter than others because it was made cheaply on a commercial press. One page is an ad for the advertising collective that apparently formed to promote black owned/operated businesses. Segregated communities throughout the US had to come together for mutual support in order to survive. The famous Green Book was a traveller's guide but interestingly it was mostly listings but few photos. This circular in contrast is much more informative and has great pictures showing the business owners. For those that didn't know Jersey was where poets such as Amiri Baraka lived - as well as a Paul Robeson, Jacob Lawrence, Count Basie, Melba Moore, Gloria Gaynor, Whitney Houston, Shaquille O'Neal, Lauryn Hill, Queen Latifah, Carl Lewis, and too many to count, really. So this is an artifact from the culture of the state and the environment that produced so many great artists and thinkers and performers.

---