ARMISTEAD (Wilson). - Lot 36

ARMISTEAD (Wilson). A Tribute to the Negro: Being a Vindication of the Moral, Intellectual, and Religious Capabilities of the Colored Portion of Mankind; with Particular Reference to the African Race. Manchester: William Irwin; London: Charles Gilpin; New York: WM. Harned; Philadelphia: H. Longstreeth, G. W. Taylor, 1848. — 8vo, 215 x 136: frontispiece, XXXV, 564 pp., (2 ff.), 7 portraits, 2 (of 4) plates. Violet cloth, with triple blind-stamped fillet framing the covers; spine and front cover adorned with a separate gilt plate; gilt edges (publisher’s binding). A rare first edition of this work by the writer and abolitionist Wilson Armistead (1819–1868), dedicated to James Pennington, Frederick Douglass, Alexander Crummell, “as well as to many other admirable examples of the Black race.” This is a defense of the moral, intellectual, and religious capacities of people of color, with a particular focus on the African race. The book is part of the 19th-century antislavery movement and aims to highlight the achievements of African Americans through biographies (including those of Toussaint Louverture, Henry Highland Garnet, and Phyllis Wheatley), while denouncing scientific racism and slavery. To make his case, Armistead employs a comparative strategy: he draws parallels between the cruelties of ancient Rome and contemporary practices in order to promote a progressive vision of abolition. Illustrated copy featuring 10 of 12 plates, including 7 engraved or lithographed portraits. The last two engravings are missing, captioned respectively: “Gang of slaves journeying to be sold in a Southern Market” and “Sale of Estates, Pictures, and Slaves in the Rotunda, New Orleans.” Several copies we found were also missing certain plates. A copy from the library of the artist, adventurer, and ethnographer Herbert WARD (1863–1919). A tireless explorer, Herbert Ward led a life as rich as it was extraordinary. Born in London in 1863, he began with expeditions to New Zealand and Australia before joining Stanley’s missions in the Congo between 1884 and 1888—a formative experience that left a lasting mark on his life. Upon his return to Europe, he married, raised a family of five children, and embarked on a second career as an artist: a sculptor and Orientalist painter, he settled in France, in Paris and Rolleboise, where he became a prominent figure in the art world. His body of work, both literary and visual, sought to immortalize the African peoples and landscapes he had encountered. He published stories, including *Chez les Cannibales*, and created sculptures and paintings capturing “wild” humanity in its natural environment, with an emotional depth praised by critics. An ethnographer and historian, he built a collection of weapons and a specialized library on Africa. He died in Paris on August 7, 1919, at the age of just 56. A copy in the publisher’s deluxe binding, featuring on the front cover a depiction of a chained slave, with the caption: “Am I not a man and a brother? ” Spine faded, with scuffing and wear. Inner hinge of the front cover split. A few scattered foxing spots; sections misaligned. Creases at one corner on several leaves in sections D, E, and F. Provenance: Herbert and Sarita Ward, with an ex-libris designed by Herbert Ward and engraved by Emery Walker, and Herbert’s autograph signature on the first endpaper.