[Knights of the Ku Klux Klan]

Kourier Magazine, Vol. 5, Nos. 5, 8-9, April-August, 1929 [inaugural Klan edition plus two others]

Atlanta: Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, 1929. Three uniformly sized (ca. 5” x 8”), stapled issues printed on newsprint, 22; 21; 21 pp. All in Fine condition with some negligible toning to newsprint.

The first issue of the Klan Edition of the Kourier plus two subsequent and concurrent issues from 1929. Each cover bears the warning: “This is the Klan Edition of the Kourier. IT MUST NOT BE SHOWN TO ANY ALIEN NOR LEFT WHERE ANY ALIEN MAY SEE IT.” Previously, the Kourier served a dual purpose of communicating with both its members and with the alien (i.e., non-Klan) world and thus found itself struggling with the differing nature of those objectives. The decision was made by the Imperial Wizard and the editorial board to establish this internal edition in order to communicate freely with its members while maintaining the public Kourier to “carry the message of the Klan to all the world.” The internal edition was published monthly and sent to the Kligrapps who then distributed it to Klansmen at the rate of $.10 per issue or $1.00 for a yearly subscription. The public edition was issued quarterly.

An anti-Catholic theme pervades each issue with conspiratorial articles about the concentration of Catholic power in the United States. The Imperial Wizard, Dallas dentist Hiram Wesley Evans, contributes two articles on the maintenance of white supremacy. Recurring columns include, “Things Klansmen Ought to Know” and “Under the Fiery Cross,” documenting the successes and activities of the Klan across the U.S. Excerpted anti-Klan articles from the mainstream, Catholic and Negro press are also included. An important source for uncensored information the Klan leadership was disseminating to its members at a time when the organization’s influence and power was continuing to wane. Item #06065

Price: $250.00