African American History: A Question of Law

African American history is also forged in the Constitution, the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments, Supreme Court decisions, and the ongoing contest of state vs. federal sovereignty. Bauman Rare Books traces that often contentious history in these rare works that reflect who we have been as a nation, and who we want to be.

ARTICLE IV, SECTION II OF THE CONSTITUTION FORMED "THE BASIS OF THE UNION" (ALEXANDER HAMILTON)

(SLAVERY) (BRADBURN, George) (KINNICUTT, Thomas). Report on… Citizens Liable to be Sold as Slaves. Boston, 1839.

First edition of the landmark 1839 Massachusetts Report firmly referencing the Constitution's privileges and immunities clause in presenting the state's "first formal protest against the laws of racial discrimination along the southern coast," uncut in original self-wrappers. $4000.

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HANDSOME LARGE CALLIGRAPHIC PORTRAIT LITHOGRAPH OF LINCOLN CREATED FROM THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION

LINCOLN, Abraham. Emancipation Proclamation. Iowa, 1865.

Original large calligraphic portrait lithograph of Abraham Lincoln created from the text of the Emancipation Proclamation, with portions of the text highlighted to create a portrait of Lincoln clearly visible within the text, designed by W.H. Pratt. $3800.

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"THE FIRST AMERICAN MARTYR TO THE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS, AND THE FREEDOM OF THE SLAVE" (JOHN QUINCY ADAMS): FIRST EDITION OF MEMOIR OF THE REV. ELIJAH P. LOVEJOY, 1838

(LOVEJOY, Elijah P.) LOVEJOY, Joseph C. and Owen. Memoir of the Rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy. New York, 1838.

First edition of the publisher and editor's memoir, issued the year after his murder—killed by "five bullets in his heart, while defending his fourth press from an armed, arsonist mob"—only two years after he denounced the lynching by fire of a free black man, as an act of "savage barbarity," with introduction by John Quincy Adams, a seminal record of a key event in America's abolitionist battle and the history of the First Amendment. $3200.

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"YOU ARE IN A FREE STATE, AND HAVE ONLY TO GO ASHORE TO BE FREE"

(SLAVERY) WILLIAMSON, Passmore. Case of Passmore Williamson. Philadelphia, 1856.

First edition of "the most complete record available" of the controversial Pennsylvania case on fugitive slaves, establishing a "precedent set in federal and state courts… and important cause célèbre for the antislavery movement," crucial in asserting a clear path for the following year's Dred Scott decision, and provoking a "legal crisis… that led to the Civil War," elusive in original cloth. $2800.

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"A PROFOUND IMPACT ON THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES.… BROUGHT THE NATION CLOSER TO THE DAY OF RECKONING"

(BRANDED HAND) (WALKER, Jonathan). Trial and Imprisonment. Boston, 1845.

First edition of Walker's "rare first-account of slave life" in the white abolitionist's electrifying account of his struggle to help seven men escape slavery aboard his ship—"cause célèbre of the transatlantic abolitionist movement"—documenting their capture and imprisonment, the punishment of having "S.S." for Slave Stealer branded on his hand, featuring the engraved image of his branded hand on the title page, "one of the most recognizable icons" of the abolitionist movement, along with three full-page engravings, a handsome copy in original cloth. $2800.

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"THE HISTORY OF SPEECH AND ANTI-SLAVERY IS CRITICAL FOR OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HOW OPPOSITION TO FREE SPEECH WORKS"

(SLAVERY) (CONSTITUTION) (GILMAN, Winthrop S.) (SOLOMON, John) LINCOLN, William S. Alton Trials. New York, 1838.

First edition of the crucial record of the controversial 1838 trials of over 20 defendants, documenting the deadly mob attack on Reverend Lovejoy and his press, a work that swiftly provoked Northern fears that free speech required "not only protection against governmental suppression, but also protection against private violence aimed at silencing speakers," exceptional in original cloth. $2800.

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AMERICA’S "FAILURE TO SET ITS HOUSE IN ORDER, TO RANSOM ITS OWN PROMISE, BROUGHT OUT IN HIM… UNCOMPROMISING ANGER, A DOGGED REFUSAL TO BOW"

(ROBESON, Paul). United States Court of Appeals… Motion. New York, 1956.

First official edition of Robeson's 1956 amicus curiae brief for the long-denied restoration of his passport, a seminal document in the history of constitutionally protect freedom of speech and the right to travel, submitted by W.E.B. Du Bois and others, declaring "to silence Paul Robeson is to immobilize an eloquent, devoted, determined and respected fighter for the full emancipation of the Negro people," with accompanying facsimile of letter signed by Eslanda Good Robeson, one-page document and laid-in envelope with typed address. $2500.

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"ONE OF THE MOST DRAMATIC AND FAMOUS INCIDENTS IN THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE FUGITIVE SLAVE ACT"

(BURNS, Anthony) PARKER, Theodore. Trial of Theodore Parker. Boston, 1855.

First edition of the fiery abolitionist's attack on the trial and rendition of Anthony Burns, and the federal government’s attempt to prosecute Parker and other key abolitionists—"one of the most remarkable and flamboyant works of the 19th century… on the right of free speech, the wrong of slavery, and the nature of judicial tyranny," a handsome copy in original cloth. $2200.

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"IT IS NOT IN THE POWER OF HUMAN LAW TO MAKE MEN ENTIRELY FORGET THAT THE SLAVE IS A MAN"

(SLAVERY) (AMERICAN & FOREIGN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY) (ANTI-SLAVERY EXAMINER). Five Anti-Slavery Pamphlets. New York, 1835-53.

Sammelband of antebellum anti-slavery pamphlets and periodicals, including two issues of the Anti-Slavery Examiner; a first edition of the 1853 annual report of the American & Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, which includes Frederick Douglass' powerful address arguing against the Liberia plan; a first edition of the proceedings of the 1835 New York Anti-Slavery Convention; and a 1836 first edition of the Third Annual Report of the Anti-Slavery Society. $1900.

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"THE GREAT PROBLEM POSED BY THE U.S. CONSTITUTION"

(CONSTITUTION) STEWART, Alvan. Legal Argument… for the Deliverance of 4,000 Slaves. New York, 1845.

First edition of Alvan Stewart's powerful Legal Argument testing slavery's persistent lawfulness in New Jersey nearly two decades before the Civil War, this very elusive work "an amazing combination of history, morality, law, politics, philosophy and constitutional analysis"—demonstrating "slavery must be understood… as a legal institution"—in original wrappers. $1800.

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"SIR: YOU ARE UNDOUBTEDLY APPRIZED OF THE FACT THAT THE MARSHAL OF THIS DISTRICT HAS IN CUSTODY THE SPANISH SCHOONER 'AMISTAD,' WITH HER CARGO AND 41 BLACKS, SUPPOSED TO BE SLAVES…"

(SLAVERY) (DEPARTMENT OF STATE). Africans Taken in the Amistad. Washington, 1840.

First edition of this Congressional document released pursuant to a Congressional resolution detailing government actions taken in the matter of the Amistad, consisting mainly of correspondence to and from Secretary of State John Forsyth. $1750.

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WILLIAM JAY'S 1839 VIEW OF THE ACTION…, WORK "ON WHICH ANTISLAVERY POLITICIANS AND LAWYERS COULD MAKE THEIR STAND"

JAY, William. View of the Action… in Behalf of Slavery. New-York, 1839.

First edition of the highly influential work by William Jay, son of Founding Father John Jay, documenting the "grim" legacy of the U.S. Constitution's "guilty compromise"—with Frederick Douglass honoring Jay at his death for his dedication to "the great cause of universal freedom… a tower of strength and his pen a two-edged, sword"—especially scarce in original cloth. $1600.

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"A COMMANDING PRESENCE IN THE HISTORY OF THE NATION'S STRUGGLES TO OVERCOME RACIAL AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE"

(PHILLIPS, Wendell). Can Abolitionists Vote. New York, 1845.

First edition of the provocative abolitionist's fierce attack on the Constitution—proclaiming it "an irredeemably proslavery document"—declaring its legacy implicates "all Americans in the crimes of slaveholding," and caused the American flag to be weighed "heavy with blood." $1500.

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"TO MAKE THIS WHOLE LAND THE SLAVEHOLDER'S HUNTING GROUND"

(SLAVERY) SMITH, Gerrit. Substance of the Speech Made… in the Capitol. Albany, 1850.

First edition of the bold abolitionist's Speech proclaiming the Constitution "does not allow the three million of our colored countrymen to be held in slavery," a close friend of Frederick Douglass, who "openly embraced Smith's version of an antislavery interpretation of the Constitution," delivered the same decade as John Brown's Harpers Ferry raid, substantially financed by Smith. $1500.

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"THE RIGHT OF PEACEABLE ASSEMBLY WAS CONSIDERED BY THE FRAMERS OF OUR CONSTITUTION TO LIE AT THE FOUNDATION OF A GOVERNMENT… DEDICATED TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF JUSTICE AND THE PRESERVATION OF LIBERTY"

(UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION) (BATES, Daisy) Supreme Court of the United States. No. 41.—October Term, 1959. Daisy Bates… v. City of Little Rock. Washington, D.C. 1960.

Official separate printing of Justice Potter Stewart’s February 23, 1960 opinion, with the concurrence of Justice Black and Justice Douglass, in the unanimous decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in “Daisy Bates et al., Petitioners v. City of Little Rock, et al,” noting the court’s decision rests on "the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment," in original wrappers. $1100.

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"'FAITH' IN THE FIGHT OF BLACK MEN FOR FREEDOM"

WRIGHT, Richard. Bright and Morning Star. New York, 1941.

First separate edition of one of Wright's earliest and most provocative looks at "racial injustice and violence in the American South," based on rumors he heard as a young boy about a Black woman who "avenged the murder of her husband" by shooting the white men responsible, a handsome copy in fragile original wrappers. $950.

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FIRST EDITION OF SENATOR CHARLES SUMNER'S "NO COMPROMISE OF HUMAN RIGHTS. NO ADMISSION IN THE CONSTITUTION OF INQUALITY OF RIGHTS, OR DISFRANCHISEMENT ON ACCOUNT OF COLOR" SPEECH OF MARCH 7, 1866

SUMNER, Charles. Speech of Hon. Charles Sumner, of Massachusetts, on the Proposed Amendment. Washington, 1866.

First edition of this important Reconstruction-era Senate speech attacking the proposed language of the 14th Amendment and demanding that its proposed provision of rights for Black Americans include true equality as well as the right to vote. $450.

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Aquatint Copperplate process by which the plate is “bitten” by exposure to acid. By changing the areas of the plate that are exposed and the length of time the plate is submerged in the acid bath, the engraver can obtain fine and varying shades of gray that closely resemble watercolor washes. Although the name contains the word “tint”, this is a black-and-white printing process; aquatint plates can often be hand colored, however.
Armorial Used to describe a binding bearing the coat of arms of the original owner, or with bookplates incorporating the owner’s arms.
Association Copy copy that belonged to someone connected with the author or the contents of a book.
Boards Hard front and rear covers of a bound book which are covered in cloth, leather or paper. “Original boards” refers to cardboard-like front and back boards, from about 1700 to 1840, used as temporary protection for books before their purchasers would have them bound. Of particular value to collectors as evidence of a very early form of the book.
Book-Plate Label, generally affixed to the front pastedown, identifying a book’s owner.
Broadside Sheet printed on one side, typically for public display, usually larger than folio size (a folio being a broadside-size sheet printed on both sides and folded once, to make four pages).
Calf Binding material made from cowhide—versatile, durable, usually tan or brown in color, of smooth texture with no or little apparent grain. Readily marbled (“tree calf”), mottled, diced, colored, polished, tooled in gilt or blind, even scented (known as “russia”). Reverse calf, with a distinctive suede-like texture, is occasionally used.
Chromolithograph Lithograph printed in colors, typically three or more.
Collation Process by which the contents of a book are inspected for completeness, checking against internal evidence, the table of contents and/or plate list, and reference works. Also a shorthand bibliographical description of a book’s composition by its leaves and signatures, rather than its pages. A-C, for example, would indicate a quarto volume composed of three signatures or gatherings of eight pages each for a total of 24 pages.
Colophon Printed note at the end of a text containing information about the printing of the book.
Doublure Pastedowns made not of paper but of leather, for decorative purposes.
Duodecimo (12MO) Smaller than an octavo, typically less than six inches tall; smaller formats, such as 24mo and 32mo, are uncommon.
Edition Print-run from a single setting of type without substantial change. Depending on demand, any number of printings can be made from a setting of type For example, a first printing might consist of 1000 copies, followed by a second printing of 2500 copies; in which case the book would have a first edition, first printing of 1000 copies, and a first edition, second printing of 2500 copies.
Endpapers Extra leaves—plain, colored or decorated—with which a bookbinder covers the insides of the book’s boards, therefore not part of the actual text block. The part of the leaf pasted to the inside of the front board is the front “pastedown,” while the other part of the leaf that forms the first page of the book is the “front free endpaper”; the same applies to the rear pastedown and rear free endpaper.
Engraving Illustration produced by carving lines into a metal plate. This is an intaglio process, in which ink is poured over the plate, then wiped from the surface, leaving ink only in the recesses made by the engraver’s tools. The image is then transferred by pressing thick dampened paper against the metal plate with great force—requiring engravings to be printed on a separate stock and separate press from any text.
Errata List of mistakes and corrections noted after printing, often compiled on a separate sheet or slip and inserted into the text block.
Flyleaves Additional blank leaves following or preceding the endpapers.
Folio Book composed of sheets that are folded once and printed on both sides, making two leaves and four pages. Typically above 14 inches tall. Oblong folios are produced the same way but bound at the short edge, producing a book typically more than 14 inches deep.
Fore-Edge Edge of the book furthest from the spine. Occasionally the text of a book will be put into a specialized book press and painted, often with a scene from the book or a landscape, so that the painting is invisible when the book is closed but visible when somebody bends the text and fans the pages—known as a fore-edge painting.
Foxing Light brown spots that naturally appear on some papers due to oxidation as they age.
Frontispiece An illustration facing the title page of a book.
Gathering Single sheet of paper that has been printed and folded to form the pages required by the book’s format. A single gathering of a quarto book, then, would be a sheet folded twice, containing four leaves, eight pages of text.. Gatherings are identified by a letter, symbol or number in the lower margin of the first page (the “signature”) to make it easy for the printer to stack them in proper order for sewing.
Gilt Edges The three exposed edges of a book have been smoothed and gilded.
Half Title Leaf preceding the title page that bears the book’s title, originally used to identify the unbound text block. The book’s binder would often remove and discard the half title at the time of binding. Remaining half-titles are therefore of interest to collectors.
Illuminated Decorated by hand. Typically early printed books and especially manuscripts.
Imprint Satement of place, publisher and date of publication on a book’s title page.
Incunable From the cradle of printing, i.e., any book printed before 1501.
Issue A group of books issued by the publisher as a discrete unit. At times, issue refers to timing, such as the “first issue” being offered to the public at an earlier date than the “second issue.” At other times, it refers to specially planned different batches, such as the “trade issue” (widely available) in opposition to a “signed limited issue” (limited to a small amount of copies differing somehow from the trade issue and not widely available).
Japanese Vellum Expensive handmade paper often used in deluxe editions.
Lithograph Illustration produced by transferring an image drawn on a carefully prepared stone to paper. The process allowed illustrations to more closely resemble the original drawings, paintings or sketches, as it gave the lithographer a freedom of line impossible to achieve in earlier intaglio and relief processes. It does not require the same sort of pressure as an engraving to transfer the image, but still has to be printed on separate stock from the text
Marginalia Handwritten notes made in the margins by a previous owner.
Mispaginated Printer’s error in pagination, typically skipping, transposing or repeating page numbers. Not uncommon in older, larger books, it is not considered a defect, so long as all integral leaves are present.
Modern Recently accomplished, when used to describe a book’s binding that is not the original casing. Some books bound recently are bound using techniques, tools and styles of the period of the book’s original issue; when done well this is called a period-style binding, a term that implies “modern” as well.
Morocco Binding material made from goatskin—versatile, durable, with a distinctive pebbled texture and visible grain. Readily stretched (“straight-grain”), crushed (flattened smooth), tooled in gilt or blind, inlaid with leathers of different colors. So-called because much of the raw material originally came from the tanneries of North Africa (other types of goatskin bindings denoting regions of origin include levant, turkey, niger).
Offset The unintended transfer of ink from one printed page to an adjacent page.
Period-Style binding executed with materials, tools and techniques to approximate the look of a contemporary binding from the period of the book’s publication. The term implies that the binding is modern, or recent, unless otherwise specified.
Plate Full-page illustration printed separately from but bound with the text.
Point Variation in text, illustration, design or format that allows a bibliographer to distinguish between different editions and different printings of the same edition, or between different states or issues of the same printing.
Presentation Copy Book given as a gift by its author, illustrator or publisher. Sometimes refers to a volume given by a notable donor.
Provenance History of a particular copy of a book.
Raised Bands Horizontal protruding strips found on the spine of a book.
Reback To supply a worn binding with a new spine, usually made of the same material as the rest of the binding and decorated to match. When feasible the binder may preserve the original spine and affix it to the new material, described as “rebacked with the original spine laid down.”
Recase To reattach a text block to its binding when it has become loose from its covers.
Recto The front side of a leaf. The back side is known as the “verso.”
Trade Edition Printing or printings of a book made available for purchase by the general public on publication day (as opposed to a limited edition, often available only by subscription).
Uncut When the edges of the text block (most apparent at the fore and lower edges) have not been trimmed to a uniform size, and are therefore characterized by a ragged or deckle edge. A book may be uncut but opened—i.e., with a paper-knife—but all unopened books (see below) are by nature uncut as well.
Unopened When the folds of the sheets of paper making up the text block have not been trimmed away or opened with a paper-knife. While this makes it impossible to read all of the pages, it also indicates a probability that the text block has not been altered since leaving the printer.
Vellum Binding material made from specially treated calfskin—durable, with a distinctive ivory color and smooth appearance. Can be tooled in gilt or blind. So-called Japan vellum (or Japon) is a type of thick paper that has been polished smooth and given a glossy finish to resemble vellum.
Verso The back or reverse side of a leaf or page. (See “recto.”)
Woodcut Illustration or textual decoration made by cutting away from the surface of a block of wood until the reverse of the image is left in relief; this is then inked and pressed to the paper to leave the image. The woodblock, or multiple blocks, can be fit into the page along with the type, allowing text and illustrations to be printed in the same print run and share the same page (not possible with engravings, which require thicker, damp paper and much more force; nor with lithographs, which require a different printing process altogether). Woodcuts preceded moveable type and are the earliest known printing technology.
Wood-Engraving Engraving made with the graver or burin on the cross-section of a piece of boxwood; the harder wood and finer tools allow for more delicate, finely detailed images, while the block can still be set in the page alongside text and printed on the same stock as the text. While much older, wood engravings enjoyed an important renaissance in the late eighteenth century through Thomas Bewick and continued in popularity thorugh the nineteenth century.
Wormhole Tiny pinhole-sized trails left by bookworms as they eat through a text block. Much more common in older books printed on handmade papers with a high rag content than in books printed on manufactured papers made from wood pulp with a higher acidic content.
Wrappers Paper coverings—plain, marbled or printed—attached by stitches, staples or glue to a text block to identify it and afford it some protection (though much more fragile than a binding in plain, cloth or leather-covered boards). More typical of slim and/or inexpensive volumes such as pamphlets. “Self wrappers” are leaves, blank or printed, that are integral to the text block, conjugate with other leaves and from the same stock. “Original wrappers,” those attached at the time of issue, are scarce and extremely desirable to most collectors.