THE SLAVE’S FRIEND; RARE CHILDREN’S ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY ABOLITIONIST INSCRIBED

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THE SLAVE’S FRIEND; RARE CHILDREN’S ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY ABOLITIONIST INSCRIBED:
$4500.00

The Slave’s Friend

Vol. 1: (Numbers 1-12)

New York: R.G. Williams, for the Anti-Slavery Society,Office corner of Nassau and Spruce Streets, opposite City Hall, 1836

An extraordinary and ultra-scarce collection of 12 pamphletspublished by the R.G. Williams for the Anti-Slavery society in 1836. These werethe first 12 numbers issued, each one here stitched into a single volume by thepublisher. Present here are numbers 1-12. Each issue is numbered individually,and the whole volume is also paginated continuously reflecting their order inthis bound volume. There is a volume title page, and a multi-page contents, (thiscontents is more like an index as it indicates subjects to be found among the12 numbers, and has organized alphabetically.) The page numbering is a little confusing,as all of the issues were clearly printed individually first, and then bound upinto this cloth binding, with additional continuous pagination letterpressedinto the pages at that point. The volume title and contents pages must havealso been added at that point. All of the individual issues consist of thewrapper and then 16 paginated pages, except the first issue, which may haveonly originally included 12pp, since the second number begins its paginationwith page 13/14. The original wrappers for the volumes are all bound in aswell, except for the front wrapper of the No. 1, and the rear wrapper of No. 5and the No. 12. Issue No. 1 also appears to be lacking its first and final leaves(pp1-2 and pp11-12), although all other pages and wrappers (except as noted) inthe 12 pamphlets appear to be present. There is a pagination error in the overallpage sequence between issues No. 2 and No. 3 (page numbers 25-28 are usedtwice, although the sequence of pages is correct, easily confirmed by theoriginal pagination of the individual volumes).

A somewhat similar copy that sold at Swann Galleries in 2007also lacked the front wrapper to the first volume and the rear wrapper to thefinal volume, and two of its issues were incomplete. Moreover, that copy onlyincluded Nos. 1–11; this copy includes all 12 numbers.

This copy also bears a remarkable inscription on the firstflyleaf: “Deborah M Giddings, presented her by her cousin Myra Giddings.” Thename Giddings is one of the most famous in American abolitionist historybecause of Joshua Reed Giddings, a house representative from Ohio who was oneof the first and most aggressive advocates of the cause in Congress. ThisGiddings family has a whole volume dedicated to their genealogy available inprint or online, and it appears that Joshua Reed’s sister was named Deborah,and the daughter of one his very well known cousins Nathaniel Giddings wasnamed Myra. Although it is impossible to know whether this inscription isbetween these two individuals, or perhaps another daughter or cousin who alsoinherited one of these surnames, it is also not without remarkable plausibilitythat the book is tied in some way to this major American family among whosemembers were some of the most active and influential abolitionists of thistime. Moreover, Joshua Reed’s daughter, Lura Maria Giddings, was an activemember of the American Anti-Slavery Society, and her she corresponded regularlywith Garrison and other members of the abolitionist movement at this time.

The cloth cover is well worn and there is stitching throughthe cloth on the spine. The pages are generally toned with foxing, but paper issupple. The binding has been pulled in some places though every remains intact.There is a small loss to the bottom edge of the rear wrapper of pamphlet No. 2,and the front wrapper to No. 10 was bound in such a way that the binder trimmedthrough the right edge of text and illustration (see photo). Otherwise thereare just a few small tears and turned corners, a few small stain marks inplaces. In issue No. 3, the first page of text has a long tear which hasamazingly been carefully stitched back together.

This collection of the first volume of this series ofanti-slavery pamphlets for children is extremely scarce and it is reasonable toquestion when another collection might reach the market any time soon. Thisvolume, including Nos. 1-12, along with an inscription easily imagined to befrom part of the family of some of the most prominent and effective abolitionistsin the anti-slavery cause, is surely a a unique historical document from one ofthe most harrowing moments in American history.

Please note, we alsohave offered for sale at this time another scarce and remarkable Anti-Slaverypamphlet: Samuel May’s The Fugitive Slave Law and Its Victims, inscribed by the authorto CorneliusConway Felton, president of Harvard University from 1860-1862).