Autographs for Freedom
London: Sampson Low, Son & Co; and John Cassell, 1853. First UK edition, first printing. Original printed boards, respined in brown buckram, titled in gilt, advertisement endpapers. Small octavo. [iii]-viii; 9-192. 6.5" x 4.25" Extremities worn, boards rubbed and lightly soiled, minor wear endpapers, internally clean, binding tight and square. Item #245420
A CALL FOR TRANSATLANTIC SUPPORT
Published at the height of the antislavery movement, Autographs for Freedom, gathers a disquieting collection of essays, poems, letters, and testimonies from leading antislavery reformers in an unrelenting assault on American slavery and inequality. Issued just weeks after the American edition, this scarce English edition stands as a call for transatlantic unity and support for abolition. Its English preface reinforces the heartfelt and straightforward call for reform in American life and religion, issuing a stark condemnation of the American clergy. "[W]e know that the church in America has abandoned its post, and is unfaithful to its mission…[they] have sought to hide the abominations of slave-holding under the cloak of Divine sanction."
Significantly, Autographs for Freedom introduced in book form Frederick Douglass’ only work of fiction—“The Heroic Slave”—based on the life and rebellion of Madison Washington.
Retaining its printed boards, this first English edition is a reminder of the international reach of the American antislavery movement.
[Sabin 29395; Blockson 9204 for American Edition].
Price: $3,750.00