Leica Store SF Books
The True America - Ernest Cole
Pickup available at Leica Store San Francisco
Usually ready in 24 hours
The first publication of Ernest Cole’s photographs depicting Black lives in the United States during the turbulent and eventful late 1960s and early 1970s. After the publication of his landmark 1967 book House of Bondage on the horrors of apartheid, Ernest Cole moved to New York and received a grant from the Ford Foundation to document Black communities in cities and rural areas of the United States. He released very few images from this body of work while he was alive. Thought to be lost entirely, the negatives of Cole’s American pictures resurfaced in Sweden in 2017. Ernest Cole photographed extensively in New York City, documenting the lively community of Harlem, including a thrilling series of color photographs, as he turned his talent to street photography across Manhattan. In 1968 Cole traveled to Chicago, Cleveland, Memphis, Atlanta, and Los Angeles, as well as rural areas of the South, capturing the mood of different Black communities in the months leading up to and just after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The pictures both reflect a newfound hope and freedom that Cole felt in America, and an incisive eye for inequality as he became increasingly disillusioned by the systemic racism he witnessed. This treasure trove of rediscovered work provides an important window into American society and redefines Cole’s oeuvre, presenting a fuller picture of the life and work of a man who fled South Africa and exposed life under apartheid to the world.
— —
First Edition / 2024
ISBN: 9781597115346
Details: Hardcover , 8 1/2 x 11 1/2 inches
Estimate shipping
Product information
All our shipments are fully insured. For shipments valued over $200, a direct signature will be required upon delivery.
We utilize various shipping carriers, with FedEx Express being our primary choice for 2-Day and Overnight shipping within the US, as well as International deliveries.
We accept returns within 14 days of delivery, subject to a restocking fee of up to 15%. This fee is not for profit, but to cover the costs associated with selling an item. Each return is evaluated individually, and we strive to minimize this fee. In many instances, we waive it entirely if the refund credit can be applied towards another item in the store.
Please note, all returned items must be in the condition in which they were shipped. If the items are returned in a different condition, we will not be able to accept them.
We highly recommend visiting us in person to experience our fine photographic tools before deciding which tool best fits your needs. Please note that our inventory is distributed among our three stores, and what you see online may be at any of these locations. Below are a few points that we’d like to make in order to meet your needs for in store pick up.
The location of each item is indicated online. For convenience, you can choose to pick up your item at any of our stores. Once purchased, the item should be ready for pick up within 4 hours at the designated store, although this might vary depending on the store's busyness and time of day. We request that you wait for a notification from us confirming that your order is ready for pick up, to ensure the best service.
If your chosen item is not available at your preferred store, we can transfer it there after purchase. If you want to pick up an item at a different store, select that store for pick up during checkout, or choose a regular shipping method and let us know your preferred pick up store via support@camerawest.com or by responding to your order confirmation email.
For any questions about in-store pick up, please email support@camerawest.com. We'll do our best to accommodate your needs.
We offer a concierge trade-in program for the gear you'd like to upgrade, cross-grade, or simply pass on to a new owner. This enables you to acquire the tools that fit your specific needs. The easiest way to trade is to bring your gear into one of our stores and meet with us in person. However, we also accommodate those who can't visit our stores. Our online process is both personal and simple.
To begin, fill out the form on our Trade // Sell page with the details of the fine photographic equipment or watches you'd like to trade in. One of our team members will then contact you to confirm any details we might need for an accurate estimate. We will provide an estimate that doesn’t only look at the value of your trade in but the whole picture of where you want to go. If the estimate is satisfactory to you, we can provide a shipping label for you to ship your gear to one of our stores for a final inspection and store credit. Finally, we apply that credit towards your new gear!