African Americans have made extraordinary contributions to the history and culture of the United States as part of the nation and apart from it. This month, Auction Finds presents “28 days (Plus 1)” of this collaborative history. The additional day is intended to break Black history out of the stricture of a month into its rightful place as an equal partner in the history of America. Each day, I will offer artifacts culled from the auction tables and the stories they hold.
Feb. 22, 2022
1923 ‘Simms’ Blue Book’ of accomplished African Americans
James Nelson Simms was an attorney, publisher and inventor who compiled a book of Black professionals in 1923. The book contains photos and short biographies about professional Black people and their businesses, along with phone numbers and addresses, arranged by cities and states.
It also lists the names – and in some cases, phone numbers and addresses – of people without a profession or business, along with ads from various black businesses, including the Chicago Defender newspaper, Oscar Micheaux Film Corporation and Keystone National Detective Agency, which billed itself as the “pioneer and only Colored Licensed and Bonded Detective Agency in the World.”
The book is a smorgasbord of African American history, showing vibrant communities with banks, drugstores, theaters, hotels, grocery stores, real estate and insurance companies, dentists, churches, ice cream manufacturers, milliners, undertakers and more. Simms wanted the book to be used as a guide. Read the full story.
