August 2020 Catalogue

F i n e N e w A c q u i s i t i o n s 54 “A Remarkable Spiritual Adventure, Involving Violent Resistance To Slavery, Divine Visitations, And An Unforgettable Sea Voyage” 52. THOMPSON, John. Life of John Thompson, A Fugitive Slave. Worcester, 1856. Small octavo (5 by 7-1/4 inches), original brown cloth rebacked with original spine laid down. $3500. Click for more info First edition and only printing of Thompson’s self-published autobiography, a dramatic account of his life under slavery and his years aboard a whaling ship, not published again for over a hundred years, very elusive in original gilt-stamped cloth boards. Born enslaved in Maryland in 1812, Thompson finally escaped and, on reaching New Bedford, shipped out on whaling vessel to evade capture by slave traders. “Thompson gained literacy early…to describe his two-year whaling voyage, he seems to have drawn on such sea tales as Frederick Douglass’ novel, Heroic Slave [1853], or Melville’s Benito Cereno [1855]” (McCarthy & Doughton, 39-40). As issued without dust jacket. Text quite fresh and crisp, trace of loss to laid-down spine, mild rubbing to bright gilt boards. A very elusive extremely good copy. “The first act of slaverywhich I recorded in my memory, was the sale of my elder sister…”