(44-CD + 2-Hardcover books + Data Index CD) 1244 tracks and a total playing time of 56hours 26minutes 27seconds. Hear the first recordings of Josephine Baker, the roots of European Swing and Jazz bands, and the subversive religious discs of Fela Kuti’s grandfather. Follow the lives of musicians, dancers and entertainers across Europe and marvel at their amazing stories. Discover audio documents, recording protocols and unseen treasures from years of research. The edition will be strictly limited to 500 copies, worldwide. Recordings on phonograph cylinders, gramophone discs and films, with both still and moving images, feature people of African descent in Europe from the earliest years of the recording industry and continued after the First World War. The contribution of these pioneering personalities on the modern mass media has not been noticed – recognition is overdue. Music, spoken word and dance, from all styles, categories, languages and natal lands provide a lost but rich resource. Many artefacts may be lost forever, but this project traces the surviving evidence. Collected in two 12 x 12 inch coffee table books with almost 600 full-color pages, here is a multitude of documents, artefacts and curiosities, from passport applications, personal memorabilia and letters, to sheet music, newspaper ads and fabulous poster art, complemented by contemporary postcards and images of wax cylinders and disc records.The team of internationally recognized experts, compilers and authors responsible for this project includes biographer Horst J.P. Bergmeier of the Netherlands, historian Jeffrey Green from the United Kingdom, discographer Dr. Rainer E. Lotz from Germany, researcher Howard Rye from the United Kingdom and sound engineer Christian Zwarg from Germany.