The Liberty Bell, Friends of Freedom, Abolitionist Work Signed and Gifted to Donors at Annual Anti-Slavery Fundraiser, 1852

Abolition, Slavery

First Edition

Friends of Freedom. The Liberty Bell. Boston: Prentiss and Sawyer, 1852. 4.75" x 7.5" inches. 303 pages. First edition Signed and gifted by co-author William I. Bowditch. A very scarce collection of anti-slavery writings. Original brown boards with gilt illustration of Liberty Bell on front cover, decorative gilt spine. Illustrated half-title page with tissue guard shows the liberty bell hanging from a tree branch with scattered and broken chains, spear and sword on the ground beneath it. This book was given as a gift at the annual bazaar raising funds for the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society. The text contains poems, prose and short stories by various authors on the subject of slavery all compiled by Boston abolitionist Maria Weston Chapman. This volume contains work by William I. Bowditch who signed the front free endpaper either marking his copy or giving it as a gift, possibly a higher-value auction item for fundraising. Sunning on spine and light scuffing to front and back covers. Former ownership signature faded. Texblock tight and clean. Overall in very good condition. An important collection highlighting key voices in the effort to end slavery during the decade before emancipation. At the time that this description is being written, just four copies are recorded in American institutions. OCLC search results are at best an estimate and can vary over time.

Item #17897

Price: $1,850.00