A very nicely preserved true first edition of Whittier's influential volume of verse exclusively dedicated to the abolition of slavery. Issued before the licensed edition of 1838 without Whittier's permission.
It begins, pre-title with Cowper's Poem The Morning Dream regarding the angels battle against slave owners, accompanied by a fine engraving showing a slave owner shrinking in fear, whip at his feet, and two slaves in gratitude worshiping.
It is followed by the title, a short introduction on slavery, then one after another, 21 poems, all on slavery. These include: To William Lloyd Garrison; The Slave Ships; Songs of the Free; Clerical Oppression [a blistering reproof of clergy who will not stand against slavery]; The Prisoner of Debt; Plead for the Slave, etc. plus a further 17 engravings.
Whittier, John G. Poems Written During the Progress of the Abolition Question in the United States Between the Years 1830 and 1838. Boston. Isaac Knapp. 1837. 103pp.
Good + in original blind embossed cloth with off-kilter gold titling to front board. Some fading and soiling to cloth, but attractive and solid. Blank ffep neatly signed by Silas S. Greenleaf of Salem, Massachusetts. Through paper on interior hinges, shaken but stable. Text complete with some scattered foxing and handling.
