Narrative of Sojourner Truth; A Bondswoman of Olden Time; Emancipated by the New York Legislature in the Early Part of the Present Century; with a History of her Labors and Correspondence, drawn from her "Book of Life"
Boston: Published for the Author, 1875. Third edition overall (First revised and expanded edition). Hardcover. 8vo. [5], vi-xi, [1], 13-320, [2] pp. Brown publisher's cloth with a portrait of Truth in gold on the front board, borders in blind on each board, the portrait in blind on the rear board, gold lettering and gold decoration on the spine. With a frontispiece of Truth (with a tissue guard). Errata slip tipped in after the copyright page. With a preface by the abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. The "Book of Life" with its own fly-title. The first edition of this work was published in 1850, a second edition was done in 1853, this is the third overall edition but the first enlarged, expanded edition (the material in the "Book of Life" was added to this edition to supplement the shorter biography printed in 1850 and 1853). The initial biography in this work was dictated by Truth to her friend Olive Gilbert. Blockson 29. Truth's famous "Ain't I a Woman" speech from 1851 is printed here, along with several direct quotations from her. The book provides a thorough history of Truth's struggles: being born into slavery, growing up enslaved, and eventually escaping to freedom. In 1828 she went to the New York state court to win back custody of her son Peter and became the first Black woman to win a lawsuit against a white man in the United States. Truth spent the rest of her life preaching, speaking out against slavery, speaking in favor of women's rights, and speaking on behalf of the temperance movement. She was a legendary orator and deeply moved those who heard her cries for the right to vote, to work, and to live a dignified life. Truth regarded the idea of women as delicate creatures to be nonsense and she herself traveled the country preaching at a breakneck pace: she was a regular at camp meetings outside New York City for several years, until she dedicated her energies to helping the Union in the U.S. Civil War. For years after the war Truth assisted with the Freedmen's Bureau, and fought segregation in Washington D.C. street cars (this work is also recorded here). Her unending dedication to a better world for working women, especially working-class Black women, is recorded here in this book. She was an outspoken advocate for these women in the nascent stages of the women's suffrage movement. This work is a shining example of resilience, determination, and sheer grit in the nineteenth-century United States. Very Good. Item #000015454
The corners of the boards a bit rubbed, a small piece of the crown and the foot of the spine rubbed away, light offsetting on the half-title page from a small floral decoration. With the name of a man from Plymouth, Michigan on the front pastedown, written in pencil and dated 1877.
Price: $7,500.00