literature

Did you know that there is a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson’s epic pirate adventure Treasure Island? It’s true! Porto Bello Gold, by prolific pulp fiction writer Arthur D. Howden Smith, tells how the treasure got to Treasure Island, complete with Billy Bones, Captain Flint, and, of course, Long John Silver. Despite some kitschy chapter titles, such as “Fetch Aft the Rum, Darby McGraw” and “The One-Legged Man and the Irish Maid,” Porto Bello Gold is more than just Roaring Twenties fan fiction.

Published in 1946, this adventure story is set in Peru in 1938. It is the tale of a father and his two sons’ pursuit of an Incan treasure known as the "golden condor." This copy has a bookplate identifying the book as a gift from the publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, to the Aeronautical Archives. It is representative of the many works of popular aviation adventure stories in the National Air and Space Museum library collection that document how motorized flight captured young people's imaginations.

Brown Gold traces the development of African American children’s literature from the 1870s to the 2000s. The book includes literary criticism and pedagogy, as well as literary history and cultural analysis. The author discusses the use and impact of racial terms such as Afro, Negro, African American, and others. The book also focuses on African American illustrations, and on how African Americans were portrayed and caricaturized in children’s picture books. The discussion addresses the impact of these portrayals on the experiences of African Americans in their daily lives.