A very finely preserved c.1890 imprint on blue-gray linen by Deraedemaeker of J. Valentine's important abolitionist cover envelope. In a very good state with small chip lower left corner as shown. Else fine.
The envelope, used by abolitionists to signal their alignment with the cause in their correspondence, depicts Britannia holding a shield and spear while standing beside a seated lion. An enslaved person kneels at her feet, looking upward in a plea for freedom. Above this central scene, Britannia holds a flowing banner bearing the biblical inscription: "God Hath Made of One Blood All Nations of Men."
In the lower right background, the engraving contrasts this vision of liberation with a stark visual depiction of transatlantic slavery. It shows an overseas shore scene with figures being whipped at a slave post and chained captives being marched toward a waiting ship.
