Description:

"THE BRANDED HAND" ANTI-SLAVERY MEMOIR
Important and scarce anti-slavery volume, a first edition of The Branded Hand: The Trial and Imprisonment of Jonathan Walker at Pensacola Florida for Aiding Slaves to Escape from Bondage, with an Appendix containing a sketch of his life, published by The Anti-Slavery Office of Boston, 1845, 119pp. 8vo., and printed by Dow & Jackson's Power Press, Boston. Jonathan Walker, the author, was arrested in 1844 and imprisoned in Florida for 11 months for attempting to help seven slaves escape by boat. During his imprisonment, Walker was subjected to ill-treatment and cruelty including being pilloried and pelted with eggs, as well as the more extreme torture of having the palm of his hand branded by a U.S. Marshall with the letters "SS" for "Slave Stealer". His symbolic disfigurement excited the mind of the public and was popularized by a poem by John Greenleaf Whittier bearing the same title and indeed inspired by the volume here. The Branded Hand is Walker's highly-detailed eyewitness account of his experiences which was very influential in exposing both the treatment of slaves as well as the maltreatment of those who attempted to help them. The volume bears artwork on the title page showing the hand with the infamous mark. In addition, it contains three full-page illustrations depicting slaves being whipped with a paddle, the author in a pillory with eggs being thrown at him, and the author having his hand branded. In its original black cloth covers (no dust jacket), with blind-stamped floral decorations and gilt-lettering to cover. Corners of covers bumped, bottom of spine torn with a few stains to covers, front flyleaf removed, yet contents remain quite tight and very good.

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May 13, 2009 10:00 AM EDT
Stamford, CT, US

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