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Rare & notable Phillis Wheatley letter...
Rare & notable Phillis Wheatley letter...
Item # 640710
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April 01, 1774
THE CONNECTICUT JOURNAL & THE NEW-HAVEN POST-BOY, April 1, 1774 The top of the first column of the front page has Phyllis Wheatley's first printed work as a free woman, and arguably her strongest denunciation of slavery. An extremely significant item.
The letter is prefaced with: "The following is an extract of a letter from Philis, a Negro Girl of Mr. Wheatley's in Boston, to the Rev. Samson Occom, which we are desired to insert as a specimen of her ingenuity. It is dated 11th Feb. 1774." What follows is the text of the letter (see).
In the letter to Occum Wheatley comments on his indictment of slave-holding Christian ministers. She points out the discrepancy between American colonists' demands for freedom from Britain & their determination to uphold slavery. One portion notes: "...in every human Breast, God has implanted a Principle which we call Love of Freedom; it is impatient of Oppression, and pants for Deliverance; and by the Leave of our modern Egyptians I will assert that the same principle lives in us. God grant Deliverance in his own way and time, & get him honor upon all those who avarice impels them to countenance & help forward the calamities of their fellow creatures..." with more.
Wheatley had recently returned from a trip to London, during which time "Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral" was published, and Wheatley was emancipated by her master. She was the first African American to publish a book. Having been kidnapped in West Africa & transported to America, she was sold from a slave ship in 1761 to John Wheatley, a Boston merchant who taught her to read & write English and Latin. At about age 14 she began writing poetry and attracted much attention. She married a free black man in 1778 and worked as a servant in her final years, dying in poverty.
Four pages, measuring 8 3/4 by 13 1/4 inches, original never-trimmed margins, some typical light foxing, minor archival repair at the inside top of the spine, very nice condition.
Category: The 1600's and 1700's
No Longer Available
