Sign up to receive email notices of recent acquisitions.
An Enquiry Concerning the Intellectual and Moral Faculties, and Literature of Negroes; Followed with an Account of the Life and Works of Fifteen Negroes & Mulattoes, Distinguished in Science, Literature and the Arts.
Brooklyn: Thomas Kirk, 1810. 8vo (8.875” x 5.625”), white paper spine with paper title label, marbled paper over boards. 253, [2] pp., with blue cloth clamshell box, with gilt leather title label at spine. Early ownership inscription in pencil at ffep: “Edward P. Spooner.” Early gift inscription in ink just below: “Edward P. Spooner From Mrs. Thomas Leach of Boston.” Bookplate of “Edward P. Spooner, Fairhaven” at front paste-down. CONDITION: Good-, covers quite worn with losses and discoloration, hinges split but holding firm, occasional foxing and moderate damp-stains. Clamshell box sunned at spine, but generally very good. First American edition, originally published in French in 1808 as De la littérature des nègres. In this Enlightenment treatise, French priest Abbé Henri Grégoire argues for the full equality of Black people while condemning slavery and white supremacy on empirical grounds, citing the achievements of notable African-descended people in science, literature, and the arts as evidence. The work begins with a discussion of terminology, followed by commentary on anti-black racism, slavery, and evidence for moral development through the Christian religion. The third and fourth chapters, on the “moral qualities of the Negroes,” expand on this theme by citing specific examples of virtuous behavior. The remaining chapters cover the scientific, political, and artistic achievements of people of African descent, featuring biographical sketches of Benjamin Banneker, Gustavus Vassa (Olaudah Equiano), Ignatius Sancho, and Phillis Wheatley, and eleven other notable figures. Throughout the work, Grégoire refutes arguments of Black inferiority and calls out their proponents by name. Then-president Jefferson is the target of several incisive criticisms for his dismissal of Black authorship and hypocritical views on liberty and slavery (Jefferson personally responded to Grégoire in an 1809 letter). De la littérature des nègres was published in translation in the United States in 1810, ensuring its impact was felt strongly on both sides of the Atlantic. The anecdotes and biographical sketches compiled here by Grégoire were later incorporated into important abolitionist works by Abigail Mott, Robert Benjamin Lewis, William Wells Brown, and others. Abbé Henri Grégoire (1750–1831) was a French humanist priest, revolutionary, and abolitionist, remembered for his vocal defense of the oppressed. In 1789, Grégoire was elected to the Estates-General as a deputy of the clergy, but joined the Third Estate and played an active role in the French Revolution, where he advocated for the abolition of the monarchy and the rights of Jewish and Black people. He joined the Société des Amis des Noirs and became a leading advocate for the abolition of slavery (which the Convention decreed in 1794), as well as for the enfranchisement and political participation of free people of color. After swearing allegiance to the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, which brought the church under state control, he became the constitutional bishop of Blois in 1791, survived the 1793–94 dechristianizing campaign, and afterwards worked to restore the Constitutional Church. Grégoire opposed the rule of Napoleon and welcomed the Haitian Revolution, while continuing his antislavery campaign after slavery was restored in 1802. He published his treatise De la littérature des nègres in 1808, for which he remains best known. Though elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1819, Grégoire was prevented from taking his seat due to his revolutionary and religious stances, becoming a cause célèbre. REFERENCES: Blockson 10355; Afro-Americana 4347; Blockson Commented 18; Weinstein 36; Shaw 20254; Doggett 112; Hogg 2439b; “Henri Grégoire” at Britannica online.
Item #10446
Price: $3,500.00
Add to Wish List