Some Crawl and Never Walk (inscribed by the author)
Dorrance Publishing Co., 1995. First edition. Hardcover. First printing (stated). Fine, fresh example in bright, crisp, fine dust jacket. Inscribed on the front free endpaper: "To ____/ Celestine Tate/ 1997/ Love". Hardcover. 199 pp. Illustrated with photographs. Very scarce autobiography of Celestine Tate (d.1998), a quadriplegic street musician who was an iconic figure in Philadelphia and later Atlantic City, playing the keyboard with her mouth. Born with arthrogryposis multiplex, her limbs never fully formed. Abandoned by her parents, she was raised by grandparents, She was unabe to walk and propelled herself by hopping using her malformed arms. She had a child in 1974 but when appealing to the Philadelphia welfare system for aid, the city attempted to remove the child from her custody. In the resulting court battle, Celestine demonstrated her ability to care for the child and ws awarded custody; the case gained national attention particularly in the black community due to coverage in "Jet" magazine. Tate later took music lessons in Philadelphia and began performing in the streets before moving to Atlantic City. Legal troubles floowed her as she was cited many times foir violating ordinances regarding Boardwalk activities. This, her autobiograpohy, was finally published in 1995 with the financial assitance of boxer Evander Holyfield; obviously, signed copies are virtually impossible to find. Fine / fine. Item #E18415
ISBN: 9780805936520
Price: $495.00