1930s Ethel Waters Original Signed Autographed Photo

Ethel Waters overcame her disadvantaged childhood to become the most famous African American actress, singer, and entertainer of her time. Her critically acclaimed move to Broadway in the mid 1920s—after having first triumphed in Black vaudeville during the Harlem Renaissance—brought the startlingly innovative and subtle character of Black Theatre into the mainstream. Ethel transformed such songs as "Dinah, " "Am I Blue?, " "Stormy Weather, " and Irving Berlin's "Heat Wave" into classics and inspired the next generation of Black female vocalists. She gave sophistication and class to the blues and American popular song, and she influenced countless singers including Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra.Tough, uncompromising, courageous, and ambitious, Ethel Waters became one of the first African American women to be given equal billing with white stars on the Broadway stage. In 1943, the film version of her Broadway success, Cabin in the Sky, established her as Hollywood's first Black-leading lady. In such plays as Mamba's Daughters and films including The Member of the Wedding, she shattered the myth that Black women could perform only as singers. For her work in Pinky, she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, the second African American to be so honored.Although she was arguably the most influential female blues and jazz singer of the 1920s and 1930s, as well as a major Black figure in 20th century theatre, cinema, radio, and television, she is now the least remembered. In Ethel Waters: Stormy Weather, Stephen Bourne documents the career of this monumental figure in American popular culture, offering new insights into the work of this forgotten legend. Supplemented by fourteen photographs, this biography leaves little doubt as to why—for decades—no other Black star was held in such high regard.

Ethel Waters overcame her disadvantaged childhood to become the most famous African American actress, singer, and entertainer of her time. Her critically acclaimed move to Broadway in the mid 1920s—after having first triumphed in Black vaudeville during the Harlem Renaissance—brought the startlingly innovative and subtle character of Black Theatre into the mainstream. Ethel transformed such songs as "Dinah, " "Am I Blue?, " "Stormy Weather, " and Irving Berlin's "Heat Wave" into classics and inspired the next generation of Black female vocalists. She gave sophistication and class to the blues and American popular song, and she influenced countless singers including Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra.Tough, uncompromising, courageous, and ambitious, Ethel Waters became one of the first African American women to be given equal billing with white stars on the Broadway stage. In 1943, the film version of her Broadway success, Cabin in the Sky, established her as Hollywood's first Black-leading lady. In such plays as Mamba's Daughters and films including The Member of the Wedding, she shattered the myth that Black women could perform only as singers. For her work in Pinky, she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, the second African American to be so honored.Although she was arguably the most influential female blues and jazz singer of the 1920s and 1930s, as well as a major Black figure in 20th century theatre, cinema, radio, and television, she is now the least remembered. In Ethel Waters: Stormy Weather, Stephen Bourne documents the career of this monumental figure in American popular culture, offering new insights into the work of this forgotten legend. Supplemented by fourteen photographs, this biography leaves little doubt as to why—for decades—no other Black star was held in such high regard.

Ethel Waters's His Eye is on the Sparrow stands as perhaps the greatest autobiography of a black female performer, capturing both the horror and the joy of the African American woman's experience through the often bitter yet always forgiving voice of an indomitable spirit. This edition is supplemented with a new historical preface and over a dozen photographs.

Poignant, funny, and utterly original, Ethel & Ernest is Raymond Briggs's loving depiction of his parents' lives from their chance first encounter in the 1920s until their deaths in the 1970s. Ethel and Ernest were solid members of the English working class, part of the generation that lived through the most tumultuous years of the twentieth century. They met during the Depression--she working as a maid, he as a milkman--and we follow them as they court and marry, make a home, raise their son, and cope with the dark days of World War II. Briggs's portrayal of how his parents succeeded, or failed, in coming to terms with the events of their rapidly shifting world--the advent of radio, television, and telephones; the development of the atomic bomb; the moon landing; the social and political turmoil of the sixties--is irresistibly engaging, full of sympathy and affection, yet clear-eyed and unsentimental.Briggs's illustrations are small masterpieces; coupled with the wonderfully candid dialogue, they evoke the exhilaration and sorrow, excitement and bewilderment, of experiencing such enormous changes. As much a social history as a personal account, Ethel & Ernest is a moving tribute to ordinary people living in an extraordinary time.From the Hardcover edition.

Poignant, funny, and utterly original, Ethel & Ernest is Raymond Briggs's loving depiction of his parents' lives from their chance first encounter in the 1920s until their deaths in the 1970s. Ethel and Ernest were solid members of the English working class, part of the generation that lived through the most tumultuous years of the twentieth century. They met during the Depression--she working as a maid, he as a milkman--and we follow them as they court and marry, make a home, raise their son, and cope with the dark days of World War II. Briggs's portrayal of how his parents succeeded, or failed, in coming to terms with the events of their rapidly shifting world--the advent of radio, television, and telephones; the development of the atomic bomb; the moon landing; the social and political turmoil of the sixties--is irresistibly engaging, full of sympathy and affection, yet clear-eyed and unsentimental.Briggs's illustrations are small masterpieces; coupled with the wonderfully candid dialogue, they evoke the exhilaration and sorrow, excitement and bewilderment, of experiencing such enormous changes. As much a social history as a personal account, Ethel & Ernest is a moving tribute to ordinary people living in an extraordinary time.From the Hardcover edition.

The U.S.A. improves students¿ reading comprehension while also providing a useful overview of American culture and traditions. With an increased emphasis on the reading-writing connection, this edition has been revised to include updated research and statistics, as well as explanations of current attitudes and customs. A new chapter, ¿High-Tech Communications, ¿ discusses the impact of technology on major areas of life in the United States. Other new features include:Pre-reading and ¿guess¿ questions for each chapter.Completely new illustrations, including many photographs and cartoons.Comprehension checks throughout each reading.Longer, more varied exercises with additional paired and smallgroup work. Includes a Teacher¿s Manual with valuable teaching tips, background information, exercise answers, and tests for each chapter.

The astonishing story of how a depressed rural region in the 1920s was unexpectedly transformed after the Stock Market Crash of 1929 into a scene of vibrant activity and record employment. Gold from the richest mining districts of California made boom towns of Grass Valley and Nevada City while the rest of America staggered under the burdens of unemployment, financial failure and collapse. It wasn't all peaches and cream some refugees from the cities and the Dust Bowl suffered before finding their way to the region, but they found jobs that paid living wages. Families soon were buying homes and automobiles and appliances, further spurring the local economy. Amazingly, the population of the area doubled between 1930 and 1940, during which time the region benefited from the work relief programs inaugurated by President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, and local leaders attracted public works projects that renewed the local infrastructure. This is probably the most upbeat account ever written about the Great Depression and every word is true. California historian Kevin Starr calls it "a first-rate work of regional history."

The astonishing story of how a depressed rural region in the 1920s was unexpectedly transformed after the Stock Market Crash of 1929 into a scene of vibrant activity and record employment. Gold from the richest mining districts of California made boom towns of Grass Valley and Nevada City while the rest of America staggered under the burdens of unemployment, financial failure and collapse. It wasn't all peaches and cream some refugees from the cities and the Dust Bowl suffered before finding their way to the region, but they found jobs that paid living wages. Families soon were buying homes and automobiles and appliances, further spurring the local economy. Amazingly, the population of the area doubled between 1930 and 1940, during which time the region benefited from the work relief programs inaugurated by President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, and local leaders attracted public works projects that renewed the local infrastructure. This is probably the most upbeat account ever written about the Great Depression and every word is true. California historian Kevin Starr calls it "a first-rate work of regional history."

Viktor Koretsky (1909–1998) was a leading Soviet artist and the acknowledged master of the Soviet photographic poster. With a long and prolific career that spanned the early Stalin era through to the onset of Glasnost, Koretsky produced some of the most memorable images of World War II and the Cold War from the point of view of the USSR.The first comprehensive catalogue of Koretsky’s work in any language, this stunning and richly illustrated album provides an essential introduction to the major examples of Koretsky’s artistic output, including posters, original designs, and other political graphics. An introductory essay by noted art historian Erika Wolf provides a fascinating general overview of the Soviet political poster, situating Koretsky’s work historically, politically, and artistically. The core of the volume is a series of two hundred full-color plates, each accompanied by a concise commentary that clarifies its significance; arranged chronologically, these works of political propaganda art brilliantly record the shifting political and artistic circumstances of the distinctive eras of their production&mdas;the first Five-Year Plan, World War II, Postwar Stalinism, the Thaw, the Brezhnev era, and the twilight of Soviet authoritarian culture.Richly annotated with related primary source quotations, a chronology, and a glossary of Soviet culture, Koretsky is a groundbreaking contribution to our understanding of this influential and little-understood artist.