.
ABOLITION
SLAVERY
RECONSTRUCTION AFRICAN AMERICANA
generally,
“BLACK STUDIES”
Back to Africa?
American Society for Colonizing the Free People of Colour of the United States. [drop-title] Memorial of the President and Board of Managers of the American Society for Colonizing the Free People of Colour of the United States. January 14, 1817. Read and ordered to lie on the table. [Washington: William A. Davis, 1817]. 8vo. 5 pp.
$175.00
An early document of the American Colonization Society, founded in December 1816. The memorial urges the transport of free blacks to Africa: “Those great ends, it is conceived, may be accomplished by making adequate provision for planting, in some salubrious and and [sic] fertile region, a colony, to be composed of such ... persons as may choose to emigrate; and for extending to it the authority and protection of the United States, until it have attained sufficient strength and consistency to be left in a state of independence.” Signed in type on p. 5: “Bush. Washington, president.” Government document: House document (United States. Congress. House); 14th Congress, 2nd session, no. 37. Printed at head of title in square brackets: 37.
Click the image to the left
for an enlargement.
Shaw & Shoemaker 42652. Removed from a nonce volume; inner edge slightly irregular. Leaves once separated, now re-attached at inner edge with transparent tape. Lightly pencilled librarian's notation on p. [1]. Small faint spot at top margin of p. 2 and p. 3. (18246)
He Does Admit the
“Question” is “Much Vexed”
Armstrong, George D. The Christian doctrine of slavery. New York: Charles Scribner, 1857. 12mo (18.8 cm, 7.4"). 148, [2 (adv.)] pp.
[SOLD]
First edition of this defense of slavery in which Armstrong, pastor of the (First) Presbyterian Church of Norfolk, VA, attempts to rebut arguments put forth by Albert Barnes. He asserts that slave-holding was not viewed as sinful by Jesus or his Apostles, neglecting to distinguish between the various forms of slavery under discussion. A classic work of the pro-slavery camp and reprinted in 1969 by the Negro Universities Press.
Library Company, Afro-Americana, 657. Publisher's brown cloth, covers blind-stamped, spine with gilt-stamped title; corners rubbed, spine extremities chipped, spine gilt oxidized, spine with inked call number and small paper label. Front pastedown with institutional presentation bookplate dated 1888. Pages clean. (21133)
Bible.
N.T.
Sranan.
1829. Da Njoe Testament va wi Masra en Helpiman Jesus Christus.
London: W. M'Dowall, pr., 1829. 8vo (23 cm). 484 pp., [2] ff.
$3250.00

First edition of the first New
Testament and the first printing of any portion of the Bible in Sranan, a South
American dialect of English spoken in Surinam. The
Testament was “translated into the Negro English language by the Missionaries
of the Unitas Fratrum, or, United Brethren. Printed for the use of the mission
by the British and Foreign Bible Society.”
Click
either image for an enlargement.
According to a writer in “Notes and Queries” (Third Series, vol.
VI, 251), this work was suppressed: “The publication of the new Testament,
says Dr. Southey, in such a language as the negro or Talkee-talkee, brought
upon the Bible Society a greater outcry than any that had been raised against
it since the schism with the Apocrypha occasioned.” Overlooked or thought
unimportant by the opponents of this translation was the fact that it was
the first attempt to present the Bible in the language that had evolved among
blacks of Surinam; that is, to proselytize them in their own language, rather
than in the approved “imperial” tongue.
Darlow & Moule 6984. Contemporary sheep with diced covers,
round spine, blind tooled spine decorations, marbled edges. Leather of covers
abraded and top of spine pulled with loss of leather. Old institutional bookplate
over another, inside front cover; properly deaccessioned from another institution.
Paper good, and clean.
Bremer, Fredrika. The homes of the New World; impressions of America. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1853. 12mo (20.2 cm, 7.9"). 2 vols. I: xii, 651, [1 (blank)] pp. II: 654,2 (adv.) pp.
$350.00

First American edition. Howitt, an English Quaker, published a number of volumes of poetry; here she translates novelist Bremer’s epistolary“impressions of America” — Die Heimath in der Neuen Welt, being a “detailed and amiable record of an extensive tour,” as Howes describes it — from the original Swedish into English. Names are named, places are limned, the wrongs of slavery are a recurring motif.
Click the image to the left
for an enlargement.
The first London edition appeared in three volumes, but the present edition in two, as stated on the title-page.
Howes B-745. Publisher’s charcoal blind-stamped cloth, spines with gilt-stamped title; cloth showing mild wear overall, with spine gilt attractively oxidized. Front free endpapers with pencilled owner’s inscription dated 1869. Pages slightly age-toned, with scattered small spots of staining. Quite a nice set.

He Tried.
Burrows, Julius C. Civil rights. Speech of Hon. Julius C. Burrows, of Michigan, in the House of Representatives, February 5, 1875. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1875. 12mo. 10 pp.
$60.00

Presentation Copy Signed by ABOLITIONIST
Maria Weston Chapman
Chapman, Maria Weston, ed. The Liberty bell. By friends of freedom. Boston: Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Fair, 1844. 12mo (19.5 cm, 7.75"). Frontis. (incl. in pagination), viii, 232 pp.
$3000.00
Click any image where the hand appears on
mouse-over, for an enlargement.
Signed presentation copy of the 1844 edition of the abolitionist annual The Liberty Bell, which was founded in 1839 and ran through 1858 (intermittently in its latter years). This volume offers anti-slavery prose and poetry contributed by Chapman, James Russell Lowell, Lucretia Mott (of whom an engraved portrait with facsimile signature serves as the frontispiece), William Lloyd Garrison, Harriet Martineau, and others.
Chapman, along with several of her sisters, founded the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society and was one of the staunchest supporters of the abolitionist cause, braving mob scenes and social condemnation to attend anti-slavery meetings, circulate petitions, organize the Anti-Slavery Fair, and publish the present annual. Not many solid, presentable copies of the Liberty Bell make their way to the market, and this one is especially notable for its having been inscribed by Chapman herself.
Provenance: Front free endpaper with presentation inscription reading “Eunice Dorman [?] from her friend M.W. Chapman,” dated February, 1844 (“39 Summer St.”).
On Chapman, see: McHenry, Famous American Women, 68–69, and DAB, IV, 19. Publisher’s brown cloth, front cover with gilt-stamped bell vignette, spine with gilt-stamped title and blind-stamped decorative bands; cloth worn along board edges and corners and chipped away at spine extremities, exposing underlying boards or support. Front cover and outer edge with a few small dents, back cover with line of light, unobtrusive staining. Pages lightly foxed, otherwise clean, with some corners dog-eared.
A desirable copy. (21279)
Colombia. Constitution. Constitucion de la Republica de Colombia. Rosario de Cúcuta: Bruno Espinosa, 1821. Small 4to (19.7 cm, 7.75"). v, [1 (blank)], 66 pp., [1] f.
$18,750.00
Click the interior images for enlargements.
First printing of the first constitution of Gran Colombia (Colombia,
Venezuela, and Ecuador), with Simón Bolívar as president and Francisco
de Paula Santander as vice-president. It adopts the U.S. division of power among
the executive, legislative, and judiciary branches, and defines powers and responsibilities
much more precisely than the U.S. constitution. Individual rights are itemized,
but do not include freedom of religion; however, a scheme is in place for
ending slavery. The constitution
was centralist and represents much of Bolívar’s political philosophy.
Rare in commerce:
No copy has appeared at auction in more than fifty years. The fact that it
was printed on the portable press of Bolívar’s Army of Liberation,
and in the small town of Cúcuta on the border between Colombia and
Venezuela, adds to its rarity.
Not in Palau. Late 19th- or early 20th-century cloth over paste
boards; binding shows wear and some insect damage. Front free endpaper with
institutional rubber stamp. Text with occasional light foxing.
Withal,
a very good copy of a book that is now nearly impossible to find in any condition.
Colombia. Constitution. 1853. Constitucion política de la Nueva Granada. Año de 1853. [Bogotá]: no publisher/printer, 1853. Small 8vo (20 cm, 7.9"). 12 pp.
$2500.00

“Edicion oficial” of the first Colombian constitution
to rebel against the stringent control of the 1843 document that centralized
power in the president. This compact is notable for its many liberal reforms,
such as
abolition of slavery,
establishment of freedom of the press, and creation of separation of church
and state.
Click
the images for enlargements.
There were two editions in 1853, the other being 24 pages in length.
Palau 59737. Original printed yellow wrappers, creased and a
little dusty. Very good condition.
“Apology”
NOT Accepted!
[Dexter, Franklin]. A letter to the Hon. Samuel
A. Eliot, representative in Congress from the city of Boston, in reply to his
apology for voting for the fugitive slave bill. Boston: Wm. Crosby & H.P.
Nichols, 1851. 8vo. 57 pp.
$165.00

Given the hotbed of abolitionism that Boston was, during the three
decades leading up to the Civil War, one must wonder what Eliot was thinking
when he voted in favor of the Fugitive Slave Act! Well, not wanting to leave
his constituency in the dark, he wrote a defense of his action and published
it in a letter to the Advertiser on 29 October 1850. His apology did
not sit well with Dexter (here signing himself "Hancock"), who wrote this scathing
rebuttal.
First
edition.
Sabin 19890; Dumond 63. Sewn, in original printed wrappers,
slightly chipped. Five-digit number stamped on front wrapper, and a neat paper
label at upper left corner. A very nice copy.
The Party of Lincoln
Ferry, Orris S.
Speech of Orris S. Ferry, of Connecticut. Delivered in the House of Representatives,
February 10, 1860. [Washington?: 1860]. 8vo. 7, [1] pp. Uncut and unopenned.
(1068)
$50.00

A piece of literature for the 1860 Republican Presidential campaign, as evidenced
by the full-page party advertisement on the last page. Ferry is a strong anti-slavery
speaker.
Folded, never bound.
What You Saw Depended
on
Where You Stood
Giddings, [Joshua
R.]. [drop-title] Privilege of the representative -- Privilege
of the people. Speech of Mr. Giddings, of Ohio, on the trial of Preston
S. Brooks,
for an assault on Senator Sumner. Before the House of Representatives,
July 11, 1856. [Washington, D.C.: Buell & Blanchard, 1856]. 8vo. 8
pp.
$65.00


Green, Beriah. Things for Northern men to do: a discourse delivered Lord's Day evening, July 17, 1836, in the Presbyterian Church, Whitesboro’, N.Y. New York: Pub. by request, 1836. 8vo (21.5 cm, 8.4"). 22, [2 (blank)] pp.
$275.00
First edition: Call to action for the abolition of slavery, by a prominent reformer who served as president of both the Oneida Institute and the American Anti-Slavery Society and who here argues that citizens of the North are as morally responsible as those of the South in addressing the issues of slavery.
The author, a pastor and educator, was one of the most determined abolition activists in the United States; the DAB notes that while his dedication to the cause led to the closing of many doors in his career, his sermons on the subject “attracted wide attention,” contributing greatly to the catalyzing of American Christian opposition to slavery.
On Green, see: Dictionary of American Biography, VII, 539–40. Sabin 28512. Recent wrappers. Foxing throughout.
[Harrison,
George]. An address to the right reverend the prelates of England and Wales,
on the subject of the slave trade. London: J. Parsons, 1792. 8vo (19 cm, 7.5").
15, [1 (blank)] pp.
$550.00

First edition of this uncommon call to civic and Christian virtue,
attributed to Sir George Harrison. The author passionately condemns the slave
trade, and urges the Church establishment to “interpose the crozier of
peace and brotherly kindness between the innocent inhabitants of Africa, and
the merciless ruffians of Europe” (p. 6); the question of the treatment
of slaves on American plantations is alluded to but not directly addressed.
ESTC N46161. Marbled paper–covered boards, old-style,
front cover with printed paper label. Pages skillfully reinforced at inner
margins; clean throughout.
Printed
to Commemorate the
First
Anniversary
of His Death
King,
Martin Luther, Jr. Letter from Birmingham jail. Stamford: The Overbrook
Press, [1968]. Small quarto. [8 (4 blank)], 17, [3 (2 blank)] pp.
$50.00
One of six hundred handsome copies printed for private distribution.
Stiff printed wrappers, center bit of top edge
a trifle bumped. Near fine. (23499)

Quaker Meditations A Neat Compendium
[Law, William]. An extract from a treatise on the spirit of prayer, or the soul rising out of the vanity of time into the riches of eternity. With some thoughts on war. Remarks on the nature and bad effects of the use of spirituous liquors. And considerations on slavery. Philadelphia: Joseph Crukshank,
1780. 12mo (16.3 cm, 6.45"). 84 pp. [bound with]
Webb, Elizabeth. A letter...to Anthony William Boehm, with his answer. Philadelphia: Joseph Crukshank, 1783. 44 pp. [with]
[Benezet, Anthony]. In the life of the lady Elizabeth Hastings... [Philadelphia: Joseph Crukshank, 1784]. 8 pp.
$1100.00

Law's mystically-inclined meditations sold vigorously in a
number of English and American editions; they serve here as the introduction
to an interesting selection of Christian inspirational readings from Philadelphia
printer Joseph Crukshanksome writers named, and some not. The
Considerations
on Slavery are designated simply as those of a "number
of different authors"; the Remarks on . . . Liquors, which aims to
promote health and happiness rather than directly religious concerns, is attributed
by ESTC to Anthony Benezet, as is the volume's last piece, the title of which
is taken from its opening lines. Lady Elizabeth Hastings was the original for
Aspasia in Steele's "Tatler" and a major donor to Oxford University Queen's
College.
Elizabeth
Webb, "an acknowledged minister among the people called Quakers," first encountered
Prince George of Denmark's chaplain Boehm while on a visit to Great Britain;
the missive with which she opened her subsequent correspondence with him, here,
greatly inspired him and a number of his friends.
Provenance: With inscription reading "Miss
Hannah Amelia Moore / Book a Present from her worthy / Friend Ruth Patton / 1789."
Law: ESTC W32233; Evans 16817; Hildeburn 3987. Webb: ESTC W13440;
Evans 18295; Hildeburn 4409. Benezet: ESTC W6416; Evans 18355. Contemporary quarter
sheep over paper-covered sides, the whole worn and abraded but the little volume
quite sound. Light age-toning, occasional darker spots. Small chip in bottom
margin of title-page; one leaf with paper flaw in lower corner, resulting in
the loss of a very few letters.

The
Spirit of Prayer
Law, William. An extract from a treatise...called, the spirit of prayer; or, the soul rising out of the vanity of time, into the riches of eternity. With some thoughts on the nature of war, and its repugnancy to the Christian life, &c. &c. Philadelphia: Henry Miller, 1766. 8vo [signed in 4s] (17.3 cm, 6.8"). 48 pp.
$750.00
An English nonjuror with "mystical tendencies" (according to the
DNB), Law is best known for his Serious Call to a Devout and Holy
Life, the principles of which he put into practice in his own. Law chose
to conduct a retired and religious existence, giving away all income above what
was needed for bare necessities (and encouraging those under his spiritual guidance
to do the same). His popular work The Spirit of Prayer remained in print—almost
exclusively in extracted form—from halfway through the 18th century until late
in the 19th; the present copy represents the second Philadelphia printing, following
one by Franklin.
The present copy does not include the thirty pages, mentioned in the subtitle,
on the nature of war; the Extract and Some Thoughts were issued
as the first and second titles in a collection of religious tracts printed
by Henry Miller, and also issued separately (Evans 10352 and 10505). Sabin
calls for 48 pages, as found in this copy.
Evans 10352; Sabin 39325. On Law, see: Dictionary of National
Biography, XXXII, 236–40. Later neat plain cloth binding, spine with gilt-stamped
morocco title label; clean. Half-title lacking. Some foxing, mostly marginal.
Pencilled notes to top of title-page and final page; early inked ownership
inscription to title-page verso, including Philadelphia street address.
A
Southerner
Calls for Abolition
in 1767
[Lee, Arthur]. [drop-title] Extract from an
address in the Virginia Gazette, of March 19, 1767. [Philadelphia?: Pr. by Joseph
Crukshank?, 1780?]. Small 12mo. 4 pp.
$875.00

"That slavery then is a violation of justice, will plainly appear.
. . . Now, as freedom is unquestionably the birth-right of all mankind, Africans
as well as Europeans, to keep the former in a state of slavery is a constant
violation of that right and therefore of justice." This strong anti-slavery
sentiment, addressed to the Virginia Assembly, was first printed outside of
the Virginia Gazette in 1767 as an addition to Anthony Benezet's A
caution and warning to Great-Britain, and her colonies. Whether it was also
issued separately in 1767 is unclear. There were several editions and variants
of editions of this work attributed to Arthur Lee on the basis of statements
in G.S. Brooke's Friend Anthony Benezet (pp. 301, 332, and 422), and
we refer the interested reader to the records of the North American Imprint
Project for the decipherment of them.
Click
the image for an enlargement.
Evans 16773; Hildeburn, The Issues of the Press in Pennsylvania,
1685–1784, 4006. Five-digit number stamped above the title; pp. 1 and
2 separated from 3 and 4, and gutter margin repaired, reattaching the halves.
Semicircular tear in lower, inside area of all pages, costing a total of 9
or 10 words.

Progressive Charity
Lesley, Susan I. [cover title] Suggestions to ward visitors. A paper read by Susan I. Lesley, before the visitors of the Seventh Ward. October 27th, 1879. Philadelphia: McCalla & Stavely, printers, 1879. 8vo. 24 pp.
$150.00

Susan I. Lesley was a Unitarian and shared a politically progressive vision with her husband J. Peter Lesley, the notable geologist and leader of the American Philosophical Society. Here she addresses the members of a charity organization in Philadelphia's Seventh Ward, a predominantly African-American section of the city though there is no particular sign of that in the text.
Click the image to the right
for an enlargement.
Provenance: Inscribed by the author to William C. Gannett, at top margin of p. [1]. Gannett spent three years in the 1860s working among freedmen in the South; he was afterwards to become a Unitarian minister and pastor of the church where Susan B. Anthony worshipped.
Original dark blue wrappers. A couple of tiny tears at top edge of front cover. Very good. (20940)
(Liberia). Address of the managers of the American Colonization Society, to the people of the United States. Washington: James C. Dunn, 1832. 8vo (20.8 cm, 8.2"). 16 pp.; 1 map.
[SOLD]
Mission statement by the Society, a group dedicated to resettling free blacks from the United States to Africa. The situation of the colony of Liberia is described (at the time, it had about 2,000 settlers in residence; they were sustaining themselves by purchasing wood, ivory, hides, and other goods from natives, and exporting them to America and England).
A map of the colony is provided.
Sabin 81763. Sewn, removed from a nonce volume, now in a Mylar folder. Mild foxing, confined mostly to title-page.
Free Speech for the
Senate Chamber?
Lincoln, Levi.
Speech of Mr. Lincoln, of Massachusetts. Delivered in the House of Representatives
of the United States, Feb. 7, 1837, on the resolution to censure the Hon.
John Q. Adams, for inquiring of the Speaker, whether a paper, purporting to
come from slaves, came within the resolution laying on the table all petitions
relating to slavery. Washington: Gales & Seaton, printers, 1837. 8vo.
9, [1 (blank)] pp.
$95.00

Lincoln rises to support and defend his fellow Bay State legislator against
charges that might lead to censure or removal. Lincoln says no slight was made
or intended and that Adams was merely exercising his right to free speech in
the chamber.
Stitched, never bound. Small piece torn from upper outer area of
title-page just touching two letters of the title. Five-digit number stamped
on title-page. (934)
Lloyd, William L. A.L.S. to Garret D. Wall. [New Jersey or Pennsylvania], 22 May 1819. 12mo (6.125" x 8"), 1 p.
$250.00
Lloyd writes, “Sir, I forgot the other Day my main business with you & that is John Williamson’s rec[eip]t for the negro so as I can have it compar’d with several people’s books where his hand writing is & be prepar’d to prove it satisfactory to you & the jury. I wish you would send it to me immediately for that purpose. Direct your letter to Shrewsbury & by so doing so will oblige me.”
Click the image to the left
for an enlargement.
Garret D. Wall was a lawyer in, and later a Senator from, New Jersey.
Written in a clear hand. Fold along horizontal middle of document. Light stain and residue of mounting into an album. Lacks integral address leaf. Old price and dealer code (Sessler’s) in pencil in lower margin.

A Hard-Laboring Poet of
Cumberland County
Oliver, Isabella. Poems, on various subjects. Carlisle: A. Loudon, 1805. 12mo. 5, [1], [vi]–ix, [11]–220 pp.
$275.00
These poems from a woman resident of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania,
were composed in moments stolen from hard, hard work on her family's farm; and
in fact they were dictated, not written, she not being a “ready writer.”
In addition to a number of musings on love, family, and death, the volume includes
an
abolitionist
exhortation and tributes to George Washington and Alexander
Hamilton. The lengthy list of subscribers shows names from many Pennsylvania
counties as well as from Philadelphia, New York, Princeton, and Fredericktown,
MD.
Click
the image for an enlargement.
First edition and an early Carlisle imprint; the first poetic publication
in Cumberland County.
Provenance:
“Presented to Alfred Creigh by His Mother, October 21st 1827,”
on verso of front free endpaper: Alfred's modestly calligraphic ownership
note inside front cover and his plain note at top of contents page; signature
of Eleanor Jane Creigh at top of title-page.
Sabin 57205; Shaw & Shoemaker 9346; Wegelin, American
Poetry, 1072. Contemporary sheep, spine with gilt-stamped leather
title-label; rubbed, front joint starting, spine and joints with small wormholes.
Inscriptions as noted. Margins variously waterstained, never horribly; pages
age-toned with occasional spotting. One leaf with tear from lower margin extending
into text, partially repaired some time ago; one leaf with lower outer corner
torn away, a few lost words replaced in manuscript. Occasional manuscript
corrections. (23146)

The
Glorious Revolution's Centennial
Revolution Society (London). An abstract of the history and proceedings of the Revolution Society, in London. To which is annexed a copy of the Bill of Rights. [London]: Pr. by Order of the Committee, 1789. 8vo. 40, 7, [1 (blank)] pp., [1] f., pp. 41–78, [1 (blank)] f., pp. 79–87, 90–92, pp. 79–86, 93–96 (page numbers 88, 89 not used).
$1675.00
Click the interior images for enlargements.
The Revolution Society was a left-wing political club created for the express purpose of celebrating the centennial of the Glorious Revolution. In 1788, the celebration of the centenary was a truly nationwide and politically charged affair. This is evident in the account of the meeting of 4 November 1788, which is included here with the Abstract, a copy of the Bill of Rights, and copies and translations of letters from the National Assembly of France. The meeting, at London Tavern, was attended by 300 gentlemen greeted by a transparent painting emblazoned with the words: “A TYRANT DEPOSED AND LIBERTY RESTORED, 1688.” Forty-one toasts transpired. Most called for political reform: Abolition of the slave trade, repeal of religious tests, freedom of the press, expansion of the franchise, and revision of the code of criminal laws. Others were more general (“welfare of all mankind” or “religious liberty”) or pithy (“when kings lose their utility may the people find their dignity”). Still others praised the navy or the militia, “King and Royal Family,” or called for the principles of the Glorious Revolution, the Magna Charta, and the Bill of Rights to “be deeply engraven for ever on every British breast.”
Uncommon: No U.S. copy of this issue located via OCLC and ESTC locates only the Harvard copy. There were other, less complete editions of 40 pp., 58 pp., and 78 pp.
ESTC N15187. Recent full calf, period style; spine with raised bands accented in gilt, oxblood leather gilt-lettered title, publication date and place in gilt at base; covers framed and paneled in gilt rules with gilt-stamped corner fleurons. Shallow chip to top outer corners of final two leaves. One word on p. 32 is blotted out in ink by an early owner with the correction supplied above it. Penned signature (partly cropped) at top edge of p. 79. Pp. 79–92 duplicated, nothing missing. (23766)
Roscoe, William. The life of Lorenzo de’ Medici, called the Magnificent...the first American, from the fourth London edition, corrected, in three volumes. Philadelphia: Bronson & Chauncey, 1803. 8vo (22 cm, 8.75"). I: xxxi, [1], 426 pp.; illus. II: [4], 427, [1] pp.; illus. III: [8], 435, [13] pp.
$250.00

Uncommon first U.S. edition of this biography of one of the great Renaissance men, accompanied by his collected poems and by an extensive set of appended documents in Italian and Latin. Roscoe, an anti-slavery politician, is now best remembered for this history and for his children’s classic, The Butterfly’s Ball and the Grasshopper’s Feast.

Shaw & Shoemaker 4994. Contemporary treed sheep, rubbed; joints cracking and front cover of vol. 2 with a small circular patch in similar leather; back covers of all volumes stamped by a now-defunct institution, spines with 19th-century paper shelving labels, and pastedowns with old library bookplates. Pages foxed and with old waterstaining. A very few stray pencil marks; first signature of vol. I partially separated.
Spain. Sovereigns,
etc., 1808–33 (Ferdinand VII). Broadside. Begins: “Don
Francisco Xavier Venegas...`Exmô, Señor = La Regencia del Reyno se ha servido dirigirme el Decreto que sigue...Deseando las
Córtes generales y extraordinarias facilitar á los súbditos Españoles, que por qualquiera línea traigan su orígen del Africa, el estudio de las ciencias, y el acceso á la carrera eclesiástica....’” Mexico, 25 September 1812. Folio extra (48 cm; 17.25"). [1] p.
$8775.00
First New World printing of a
major human rights act: The decree granting all Spanish
subjects of African heritage the right to an education through the university
and post-graduate level and the right to take orders and habits in the clergy.
Click
the image to the left
for an enlargement.
While Ferdinand VII remained the prisoner of Napoleon, the Regency promulgated
several important human rights acts, and this was one of the most important.
The Regency ratified and published it 29 January and on 31 January it was
ordered distributed throughout the empire.
Not in Medina, Mexico; not in Garritz, Impresos novohispanos;
not in Sutro. Folds from having been previously bound into a small folio volume.
Left margin irregular from removal from that volume. Revenue stamps on the
verso. Viceroy Venegas’s paraph (“rúbrica”) below
his printed name.
A
very good copy.
Back to Africa?
United States. Congress. [drop-title] Report on colonizing the free people of colour of the United States. February 11, 1817. Read, and committed to a committee of the whole House on Monday next. [Washington: William A. Davis, 1817]. 8vo. 5 pp.
$200.00
Click the image for an enlargement.
An early document of the American Colonization Society, founded in December 1816. Concerns the feasibility of negotiating with Great Britain to establish a colony of free blacks in Sierra Leone. Government document: House document (United States. Congress. House); 14th Congress, 2nd session, no. 78. Printed at head of title: [78].
Shaw & Shoemaker 42738; Library Company, Afro-Americana, 10602. Removed from a nonce volume. Lightly pencilled librarian's notation on p. [1]. Leaves separated. (18440)

Abolishing “Traffick” Proposing “Colinization”
United States. Congress. [drop-title] Joint resolution for abolishing the traffick in slaves, and colinization [sic] of the free people of colour of the United States. February 11, 1817. Read, and committed to a committee of the whole House on Monday next. [Washington: William A. Davis, 1817]. 8vo. 2 pp.
$100.00
Resolution authorizing the president to negotiate with foreign governments to abolish the slave trade and to negotiate with Great Britain to establish a colony in Sierra Leone for free blacks. Government document: House document (United States. Congress. House); 14th Congress, 2nd session, no. 77. Printed at head of title: [77].
Shaw & Shoemaker 42596; Library Company, Afro-Americana, 10583. Removed from a nonce volume. Lightly pencilled librarian's notation on p. [1]. Very mild foxing. (18436)
Search
& Seizure
Van Buren, Martin (President, 18371841). [drop-title] Search or seizure of American vessels on coast of Africa, &c. Message from the President of the United States, transmitting a report from the Secretary of State, in relation to seizures or search of American vessels, &c. March 3, 1841. Read, and laid upon the table. [Washington, 1841]. 8vo. 766 pp.
$400.00


The ships were being stopped as part of England's attempts to end the slave trade. Correspondence between the Secretary of State and the Legation of the United States in London, the British Legation at Washington, and the United States Consulate at Havana. Correspondence dates from 12 February 1836 to 1 March 1841. Government document: 26th Congress, 2d Session. Doc. No. 115. Ho. of Reps. Executive.
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Disbound; three holes in inner margin, not touching text. Ink notation and numeral on first page. Some dog-earing and tattering in corners and outer margins. Pencillings in several margins. Occasional mild spotting. Now housed in a simple archival phase box. (13455)
Search
& Seizure, again
but GILPIN'S COPY!
Van Buren, Martin (President,
18371841). [drop-title] Search or seizure of American
vessels on coast of Africa, &c. Message from the President of the United States,
transmitting a report from the Secretary of State, in relation to seizures or
search of American vessels, &c. March 3, 1841. Read, and laid upon the table.
[Washington, 1841]. 8vo. 766 pp.
$450.00

Another copy . . .
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the image to the left
for an enlargement.
Provenance: First page with inked signature of Henry D. Gilpin (here "H.D. Gilpin"), the U.S. Attorney General who argued
the Amistad case. Front pastedown with Gilpin's bookplate and the Wisconsin Historical Society's rubber-stamp.
Half sheep over paper boards; covers off, leather rubbed and much abraded, spine leather chipped away; two holes in inner margin, never touching text. Remnants of paper label adhered to top margin of first page. Light spotting to several pages. A few small dog-ears. Now housed in a simple archival phase box. (13538)

Anti-British & Early American
Catholicum
Walsh, Robert, Jr. An appeal from the judgments of Great Britain respecting the United States of America. Part first, containing an historical outline of their merits and wrongs as colonies; and strictures upon the calumnies of the British writers. Philadelphia: Pub. by Mitchell, Ames, and White; W. Brown, Pr., 1819. 8vo. lvi, 512 pp.; errata slip.
$225.00

First edition of a vituperative anti-British study of British mistreatment of America in which the author quotes individual passages from the many published attacks on the new American nation by the British — launching fiery returns. In the book's dedication to Robert Oliver, an Irishman, Walsh says, “In the same nation which [the Irish] have always found a tyrannical mistress, [America], throughout her colonial existence, found a jealous step-mother, and now finds a malevolent scold.” He candidly admits that his purpose is “a collateral retaliation for [Great Britain's] continued injustice and invective.” Little wonder the DAB records that this work “brought congratulatory notes from Jefferson, John Adams, and John Quincy Adams and a vote of thanks from the Pennsylvania legislature, but occasioned denunciatory notices in British publications.”
Of particular note is the lengthy section on the American slave trade, Walsh justifying it against fierce British attacks and describing the state of the institution as he saw it, at the time.
Provenance: Released as a duplicate from the greatest collection of American Catholica in the world, the Georgetown University Library, with a few of the requisite and expected stamps; Walsh, a leading literary critic and editor of the American Quarterly, was an early and distinguished Catholic-American literateur.
Parsons 631; Shaw & Shoemaker 50024; Sabin 101158; Howes W67. On Walsh, see: The Dictionary of American Biography, XIX, 391–92. Recent quarter natural linen shelfback with blue-green paper sides in the style of the era. Library markings noted
above. A very good copy. (24005)

Against! “Secret Confederations”
Warfield, Charles. The kingdom and glory of the branch, and testament of the west. Baltimore: William Wooddy [sic], 1833. 8vo (21.9 cm, 8.6"). 261, [3 (blank)], 263–341, [1 (blank)] pp. (lacking port.).
$500.00
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Sole edition of these mystical meditations composed by the eccentric founder of the Branch Tabernacle in Baltimore. Anti-Masonic sentiments are woven throughout, e.g., “General George Washington, of N. America, used a Masonic influence to the best of Purposes; and we know that a man of less virtue, would have acted very differently. . . . If secret Orders are patronized, at large,— their pretentions will extend to Legislative counsels, and to the Judiciary, and Executive departments, and, that too, with much unfairness.” (pp. 180–81). Warfield also has a great deal to say about government, U.S. law, women, and slavery, all mixed in virtually at random with his religious proclamations.
Scarce. Only 11 institutions, all in the U.S., report holdings via OCLC.
Sabin 37866; American Imprints 22538. Period-style quarter tan cloth with light blue paper–covered sides, spine with printed paper label. Frontispiece portrait lacking. Light to moderate foxing. (23903)
Weld, Theodore Dwight. American slavery as it is: Testimony of a thousand witnesses. New York: American Anti-Slavery Society, 1839. 8vo (22.2 cm, 8.75"). 224 pp.
[SOLD]

First edition: Harrowing testaments to the wrongs of slavery, often in the slaveholders’ own quoted words. The widely-read stories were compiled by Weld, an important abolitionist and reformer, with the assistance of Angelina Grimké Weld and Sarah Grimké, his wife and sister-in-law, both prominent abolitionists and women’s rights activists in their own right.
Sabin 102547; Blockson 9148; LCP 11053. Recent paper-covered boards, front cover with printed paper label. Foxed — title-page heavily, the rest but lightly.

No, No, No.
Woodward, George W. Negro suffrage -- The Reconstruction laws. Speech... delivered in the House of Representatives, March 21, 1868. Washington, [D.C.]: F. & J. RIves, & George A. Bailey, 1868. 8vo. 14 pp.
$75.00


Woodward was no friend of the ex-slave and did not favor suffrage for the black population.
Folded, never bound. Uncut, mostly unopened. (456)
COLLECTING
Jenkins Company, booksellers, Austin.
The South, Civil War, blacks, and slavery. Austin: The Jenkins Company, 1985.
Folio.
$15.00
Catalogue 177. 1424 items.
Original illustrated wrappers. Ink and pencil markings on front
cover. Address label on rear.
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