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[Phillis Wheatley]. [The Christian, A Poem in Four Books]. Observations Upon Negro-Slavery by Charles ...
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[Phillis Wheatley]. [The Christian, A Poem in Four Books]. Observations Upon Negro-Slavery by Charles Crawford. Philadelphia: Joseph Cruikshank, 1784; 1783. 12mo. xi, 11, 111, 24 pages. Paper boards backed in calf.Bound at the end of The Christian is an anti-slavery expanse by Crawford from which he quotes Phillis Wheatley's poem, "To a Clergyman on the Death of His Lady," almost in its entirety. This scarce printing is the first American appearance of Phillis Wheatley's poetry, as the American edition of Poems on Various Subjects was not printed until 1787, fourteen years after the London edition. Crawford also includes John Wheatley's letter to the publisher, which first appeared in the 1773 London edition of Poems, that reads, "Without any assistance from School Education ... she in sixteen Months Time from her arrival, attained the English Language ... to such a Degree, as to read any, the most difficult Parts of the Sacred Writings ..." Following that is the notice "To the Public" which attests that, following an examination conducted by prominent Bostonian men in 1772 (among whom was John Hancock), Wheatley was found to be the author of the following poems. It reads, in part: "...the Poems Specified in the following page, were (as we verily believe) written by Phillis, a young negro girl, who was but a few years since, brought an uncultivated barbarian from Africa... She has been examined by some of the best judges, and is thought qualified to write them." In the late eighteenth century, it was not unusual to find enslavers arguing for the institution of slavery on the basis that Africans lacked the intellectual capabilities to govern themselves. Crawford's tract argues assiduously against this dangerous line of thinking and his inclusion of these two tracts defending Wheatley were carefully chosen to illustrate his point.
Phillis Wheatley (circa 1753-1784) was believed to have been born in Senegal, West Africa. When she was around eight years old, she was kidnapped and brought as an enslaved child to Boston, where she was purchased by John Wheatley, a prosperous tailor, to be the personal servant of his wife, Susanna. The couple taught her to read and write and encouraged her interest in books. She advanced quickly and authored her first poem around the age of fourteen. Wheatley also read extensively in Greek and Roman history, Greek mythology, and contemporary English poets, and her work strongly reveals the influence of Gray and Pope. Because of her poor health, her master's son took her to England in 1773, where her popularity was immediate and tremendous. Among her devotees was Selina Hastings, the Countess of Huntingdon, who subsidized the printing of Wheatley's first book, which was published while she was abroad, and to whom Wheatley dedicated the book. "Wheatley wrote at a time when women suffered great discouragement for expressing political and literary thoughts... Wheatley's Poems... are considered one of the most important books relating to African-American literature and one of the most celebrated relating to a black author." (Charles L. Blockson, A Commented Bibliography of One Hundred and One Influential Books By and About People of African Descent (1556-1982). A Collector's Choice). Most of her poems are elegies, and most reveal her intense religious faith. Although little is written about herself or her circumstances in America, her poems are polished, sophisticated, and similar in style to many turned out in both England and America at the time. She was emancipated in 1773, shortly after the publication of her first book. By 1779 both Susanna and John had died, leaving Phillis in near poverty. Around this time, she married a free black grocer named John Peters, but misfortune continued to plague the family. She gave birth to three children who tragically died young, and Peters was imprisoned for debt in 1784. Phillis, whose own health was always frail, died in December of that year at the age of just thirty-one.
Reference: Evans 17893 and 18425
Condition: Spine heavily chipped with loss, corners bumped, boards rubbed. Ink ownership ("Michajah Speakman") to title page with his son's bookplate to front pastedown. Hinges weak, but holding. Gutter overextended with binding visible.
Auction Info
2022 October 19 Historic African Americana Signature® Auction #6248 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
October, 2022
19th
Wednesday
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