The Raw Pearl is a book written by Pearl Mae Bailey and published by Harcourt, Brace & World in 1968.

The Raw Pearl is a most unusual book to come from a famous entertainer, singer, actress. Most such books are either ghosted or written ‘with the collaboration of.’ This book was written by Pearl Bailey. The result, instead of a slick formalized autobiography, is a fresh and vivid human document. The voice is Pearl Bailey's voice: witty, informal, honest, and magnetic. One reads the book with a sense of listening to Miss Bailey…

See also the 1973 paperback of Talking to Myself, which likewise features a black and white photographic background and the title set in West Behemoth Italic Swash with its multiple biform alternate glyphs and swashes.

Later (post-1970) printing with a black-and-white jacket front

In 1970, Harcourt, Brace & World changed their name to Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

Pearl Bailey’s The Raw Pearl was originally published by Harcourt, Brace & World in 1968, see Garrison’s contribution about the first edition with West Behemoth Italic Swash on the book jacket.

Shown here is a 1971 paperback edition by Pocket Books. It features another bold italic with swashes, likewise from the catalog of Photo-Lettering: this time it’s Cooper Nouveau Swash 10 by Dave West.

The quotes on the back cover are set in Century Bold.

Talking to Myself is a book by Pearl Mae Bailey that was first published October 1, 1971. Shown here is the 1973 paperback edition by Pocket Books.

The inimitable Pearl is in rare form in Talking to Myself. This is a free-swinging book that follows literally its title though it will be an unusual reader who doesn’t decide pretty soon that Miss Bailey is talking to him too. Crammed with anecdotes and with highly independent opinions about contemporary life, this book at first seems, however lively, to have little unity. But the further one reads, the clearer it becomes that there is a hidden order to the whole work. Miss Bailey discusses with obvious delight, sometimes with passion and sometimes with humor, the state of the nation, the American family, the conflict between the generations, the entertainment world and the perils of fame,and the perennial themes of birth and love and hate and death. She is often uproariously funny, she is full of compassion, and at times strikes profoundly into the human soul…

See also the first-edition book jacket for The Raw Pearl (1968), which likewise features a black and white photographic background and a title set in West Behemoth Italic Swash with its multiple biform alternate glyphs and swashes.

This mid-career release from actress and singer Pearl Bailey uses Amber, one of many brush lettering styles from the Filmotype company offered for photocomposition. The barebones design is uncredited.

[More info on Discogs]

“Now, for the first time, the night club performer and the recording performer have become one and the same person. This album is Pearl Bailey’s night club performance come to life on a record. That’s why it is labeled “For Adults Only” and that’s why it is restricted from air play. It’s a precaution that Roulette has taken to protect the innocent from her earthy wisdom.”