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141 (SLAVERY.) The Female Society for the Relief of British Negro Slaves. Publicity album produced by the society. [Birmingham: c.1822–26] Quarto (259 × 204 mm). Contemporary half calf, marbled boards, raised bands, title lettered in gilt to second compartment, others and raised bands tooled in blind and gilt, marbled endpapers, edges sprinkled red. With 5 full-page engraved plates printed by the Society and depicting slaves, plus 19 sketches by a previous owner depicting Cornish countryside, 10 in pencil and 9 in watercolour. Birmingham bookbinder and bookseller’s ticket to front paste- down, “Richard Peart”. Joints skilfully repaired, extremities slightly bumped, boards lightly rubbed, occasional spotting to text block. A very good copy. rare publicity album produced by the female society for the relief of british negro slaves in birmingham, one of the most important abolitionist groups active in the early 19th centu- ry, to raise public awareness and funds for the cause; an early exam- ple of shock publicity tactics. Active between 1825 and 1919, the Soci- ety sought to “waken attention, circulate information, and introduce to the notice of the affluent and influential classes . . . knowledge of the real state of suffering and humiliation under which British Slaves yet groan” ( Annual Report for 1825 ). Subscriptions were collected from members of the Society as well as donations from other interested parties, and the monies then forwarded to anti-slavery groups in Britain or overseas. These funds also financed specific projects, two of which involved prominent African American educator Booker T. Washington, responsible for founding the Tuskegee Institute in Ala- bama, and Amanda Smith, a former slave who funded an orphanage for “abandoned and destitute colored children” in Chicago. Publicity albums such as this consist of a mixture of anti-slavery items especially printed for the society, contemporary newspaper articles, poems and songs supportive of the abolitionists, and cop- ies of the Society’s annual reports. OCLC lists similar examples at Brown, New York Public Library, and the New York Historical Society Library; Copac adds Birmingham, Southampton, and the Society of Friends; we trace another in the Royal Collection, pre- sented to George IV. It is likely many others have been broken up
for their contents. A full description of the contents is available on our website or on request. £7,500 [103614] 142 (SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING THE EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN.) The Twenty-Second Annual Report. London: [Society for Promoting the Employment of Women,] 1881 Octavo (212 × 132 mm), pp. 32. Disbound. Faint pencil mark to margin on p. 12. Slight nicks to top edge, lighting browned, a very good copy. sole printing of the annual report of the society for promoting the employment of women. The society was found- ed in 1859 by Emily Faithfull, Jessie Boucherett, Barbara Bodichon, and Elizabeth Rayner Parkes with the aim of encouraging women, and providing them with the necessary skills, to enter a wider va- riety of work. They began their effort by researching and creating roles other than governess or seamstress that could be considered respectable, such as compositor, the suggested job which lead Faith- full to create the Victoria Press. The Society continues to function to this day and is now known as Futures for Women. This pamphlet provides an account of the range of vocations which the Society has helped women enter, listing their successes, training classes, and ap- prenticeship opportunities. The Society had the support of a number of influential persons; their subscribers list includes both Queen Vic- toria and Princess Louise, and both Lord Shaftesbury and four-time Prime Minister William Gladstone played active roles in the running of the society from its inception. A number of other key figures in the early feminist movement feature on the subscribers list, such as Sophia Jex-Blake, who campaigned for and wrote extensively on the education of women, specifically in the medical profession. Jex- Blake donated £5 (roughly £2,500 in today’s money) in 1863, 1864 and 1865. Alongside these subscribers are artists such as Thomas Land- seer, who donated £10 in 1876, and guilds such as the Clothworkers’ Company and the London Association of Schoolmistresses. An uncommon work, with no copies traced on Copac or OCLC. £350 [120769]
All items are fully described and photographed at peterharrington.co.uk
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