The Underground Rail Road. A Record of Facts, Authentic Narratives, Letters, &c., Narrating the Hardships, Hair-breadth Escapes, and Death Struggles of the Slaves in their Efforts for Freedom, as Related by Themselves and Others, or Witnessed by the Author
- Philadelphia: Porter & Coates, Publishers, 1872
Philadelphia: Porter & Coates, Publishers, 1872. First Edition. Thick octavo (24.5cm); variant bound in the publisher's paneled-style brown pebbled cloth, with titling and decorations stamped in gilt on spine and covers; dark brown clay-coated endpapers; all edges gilt; 4pp.ads, [iv],780,[2]pp, with an engraved frontispiece portrait of Still and 43 plates of illustrations. Modest rubbing to the binding, wear and shallow loss to heel, with gentle sunning and biopredation to spine, resulting in some erosion to the cloth; a few thin, partial cracks to hinges (two of them showing evidence of being re-glued), with textblock starting to sag very slightly; early owner's small label and neatly rubber-stamped name (John D. Harrison) on preliminary blank, and pp.101, 400, and 780, with a small loss to margin at pp.45-46, and two pages with small marginal tears; Very Good.
A historically significant document by Still, a free-born Black man who became an author and abolitionist movement leader in Philadelphia, PA. The volume documented the stories of escaped slaves, and remains "the only first-person account of Black activities on the Underground Railroad written and self-published by an African-American...William Still was a major contributor to the success of the Underground Railroad activities in Philadelphia and a part of Philadelphia's free Black community that played an essential role in the Underground Railroad. He personally provided room and board for many African Americans who escaped slavery and stopped in Philadelphia on their way to Canada. Through his work with the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery's Vigilance Committee, he raised funds to assist runaways and arrange their passage to the North. He was instrumental in financing several of Harriet Tubman's trips to the South to liberate enslaved Africans" (Turner, Diane D. "William Still's National Significance." Web blog post. William Still: African American Abolitionist. Temple University, n.d. 18 August, 2016).
Still kept meticulous notes concerning the many escaped slaves who passed through the Philadelphia "station;" he took pains to record names, brief biographies, and the destination for each individual, along with any adopted aliases, in hopes of reuniting family members who were separated by slavery. He kept his notes secret, hidden in diaries he kept during those years, and published them after the Civil War. The Underground Rail Road went through three editions, and was displayed at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition in 1876. SCHOMBURG, p.7, 394; WORK, p.338.
A historically significant document by Still, a free-born Black man who became an author and abolitionist movement leader in Philadelphia, PA. The volume documented the stories of escaped slaves, and remains "the only first-person account of Black activities on the Underground Railroad written and self-published by an African-American...William Still was a major contributor to the success of the Underground Railroad activities in Philadelphia and a part of Philadelphia's free Black community that played an essential role in the Underground Railroad. He personally provided room and board for many African Americans who escaped slavery and stopped in Philadelphia on their way to Canada. Through his work with the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery's Vigilance Committee, he raised funds to assist runaways and arrange their passage to the North. He was instrumental in financing several of Harriet Tubman's trips to the South to liberate enslaved Africans" (Turner, Diane D. "William Still's National Significance." Web blog post. William Still: African American Abolitionist. Temple University, n.d. 18 August, 2016).
Still kept meticulous notes concerning the many escaped slaves who passed through the Philadelphia "station;" he took pains to record names, brief biographies, and the destination for each individual, along with any adopted aliases, in hopes of reuniting family members who were separated by slavery. He kept his notes secret, hidden in diaries he kept during those years, and published them after the Civil War. The Underground Rail Road went through three editions, and was displayed at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition in 1876. SCHOMBURG, p.7, 394; WORK, p.338.