Anecdotes of Africans

London: Printed for Harvey and Darton, Gracechurch-Street. 1827. Hardcover. Good. 8vo (185 x 115mm). Pagination: [xi], 88pp. Signatures: *(4)-b(2), B-D(12), E(8). Titlepage with four-line excerpt of poem “The Negroe’s Complaint” by William Cowper, written in 1788 and printed in an English anti-slavery pamphlet: “Fleecy looks and black complexion, Cannot forfeit nature’s claim: Skins may differ, but affection Dwells in white and black thesame.” Contemporary (possibly original) boards backed with modern cloth, edges uncut; (title with loss at top, some light marginal staining, mostly at front and rear leaves and to covers; otherwise good).

Anonymously published, signed only “A lover of Africa,” the Anecdotes of Africans expressed the human identity of African slaves through a selection of stories and travels, which largely related to the slavery at the Cape of Good Hope. Throughout the late 18th and early19th-centuries, an increasingly vocal anti-slavery sentiment rippled through both sides of the Atlantic. Authors who published anti-slavery works - hymns, poems, and anecdotes - believed that by arousing the feelings of human fellowship they could win the argument for racial equality. This book is exceedingly rare, OCLC locates scarce print copies at Drew University Library, Haverford College Library, and the source library for widely held digitized copies is Goldsmith’s Library, University of London. See Goldsmiths’-Kress Library ofEconomic Literature, no. 25379.