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Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave / written by himself

Catalog Data

Author:
Douglass, Frederick 1818-1895  Search this
Contributor:
Garrison, William Lloyd 1805-1879  Search this
Phillips, Wendell 1811-1884  Search this
Publisher:
Anti-Slavery Office  Search this
Subject:
Douglass, Frederick 1818-1895  Search this
Physical description:
xvi, 125, [1] pages, [1] leaf of plates : portrait ; 18 cm
Type:
Biography
Autobiographies
Biographies
History
Engravings
Publishers' cloth bindings (Binding)
Place:
United States
Maryland
Date:
1845
19th century
Notes:
First edition
"Preface" on pages [iii]-xii signed and dated: Wm. Lloyd Garrison, Boston, May 1, 1845
Frontispiece is engraved portrait of Frederick Douglass
"Letter from Wendell Phillips, Esq.": pages [xiii]-xvi
Last page blank
Checklist of American imprints, 45-2043
Library Company of Philadelphia. Afro-Americana, 1553-1906, 3234
Sabin, J. Dictionary of books relating to America from its discovery to the present time, 20711
SCDIRB copy (39088006811202) stamped on title page: Smithsonian Institution National Museum Nov 10 1931 [manuscript accession no.] 288832.
SCDIRB copy in contemporary publisher's binding; brown diaper grain cloth; covers blocked with blind decoration of scrollwork, front cover with title in gilt.
Summary:
The author was born into slavery but escaped in 1838, quickly becoming involved in the abolitionist movement. Following the 1845 publication of this, his first autobiography, he risked recognition and recapture by his owner, and so fled the United States. The Dublin reissue, also of 1845, with a preface by Douglass, explains his reasons for his journey to Britain. Douglass describes his early life and the growing awareness of the injustices he suffered. The beatings he witnessed and received himself are described in painful detail. It was one of the most widely read North Americn slave narratives, selling 4,500 copies in the first four months of publication. In factual detail, the text describes the events of his life and is considered to be one of the most influential pieces of literature to fuel the abolitionist movement of the early 19th century
Topic:
Slave narratives  Search this
Abolitionists  Search this
African American abolitionists  Search this
Slaves  Search this
Antislavery movements  Search this
Slavery  Search this
Slaves--Social conditions  Search this
Fugitive slaves  Search this
Plantation life--History  Search this
Call number:
E449 .D749 1845
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_408353