Black Americana and Abolition – 49 – Bauman Rare Books - July 2022 First Edition Of Trial And Imprisonment Of Jonathan Walker, 1845, Containing The Infamous Image Of “S.S.” Branded On His Hand 82. WALKER, Jonathan. Trial and Imprisonment of Jonathan Walker, At Pensacola, Florida, For Aiding Slaves to Escape from Bondage. Boston, 1845. Octavo, original brown cloth. $2800. First edition of Walker’s electrifying account of his struggle to help seven men escape slavery aboard his ship—a “cause célèbre of the transatlantic abolitionist movement” (Clavin)— documenting their capture and imprisonment and the punishment of having “S.S.” for Slave Stealer branded on his hand, in original cloth. Walker’s attempt to help legally bonded men escape enslavement highlighted “the perpetual nature of the war against slavery.” “Trial and Imprisonment of Jonathan Walker... his rare first-hand account of slave life on the Gulf Coast” electrified the cause, and the image of his branded hand gave the movement “one of its most recognizable icons” (Clavin, 687-712). Rare complete with three full-page engraved illustrations. Issued with front board gilt-stamped, “Narrative of Jonathan Walker” (this copy), or gilt-stamped, “The Branded Hand”; no priority established. Interior quite fresh with mere trace of soiling, faintest edge-wear to bright gilt-stamped cloth. A splendid about-fine copy. “The Surest Way To Lift Up Ourselves Is To Lift Up Some One Else” 83. WASHINGTON, Booker T. Daily Resolves. London and New York, 1896. Small octavo, original half gilt-stamped white cloth, custom clamshell box. $4200. First edition of Booker T. Washington’s first book, an exquisite illustrated volume published while he was emerging as a prominent African-American leader, with six double-page chromolithographed plates of his inspirational maxims. Throughout his life and work, Booker T. Washington “tirelessly preached an upbeat, optimistic view of the future of his fellow Blacks” (ANB). His words in this small, lovely volume—penned during his earliest work as an educational reformer and published as he earned recognition through national lecture tours—soar with eloquence and impress with a moral urgency rivaling that heard from any pulpit. This exquisite chromolithographed volume evokes the aura of an illuminated manuscript. Mere trace of soiling to bright gilt-stamped boards. Fine condition.
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