<I>Biographical Sketches and Interesting Anecdotes of Persons of Colour. To Which Is Added, a Selection of Pieces in Poetry</I>
date: label: Date
content: 1826
name: label: Compiled by
content: Abigail Mott, American, 1795 - 1846
label: Subject of
content: Phillis Wheatley Peters, American, ca. 1753 - 1784
label: Printed by
content: Mahlon Day, American, 1790 - 1854
notes: label: Caption
content: Phillis Wheatley Peters (c. 1753 – 1784) was born in West Africa and captured by slave traders as a child, whereupon she was sold to John and Susanna Wheatley of Boston, Massachusetts. She was named after the slave ship on which she was transported to the Americas and the name of her enslavers, but her surname of Peters is that of the man she married in 1778—John Peters, a free man of color.
label: Caption
content: The story of the discovery of her talent by the Wheatley family is oft told—they taught her to read and write, and by age fourteen, she had begun to write poetry that was soon published and circulated amongst the elites of late eighteenth century America and Great Britain. Her first and only volume of poetry, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773), was published in London with the assistance of wealthy abolitionists. Peters’ poetry brought her renown in abolitionist circles as proof of the humanity of those of African descent and the inhumanity of the institution of slavery.
label: Caption
content: The Wheatleys manumitted Peters in 1773 under pressure from critics who saw the hypocrisy in praising Peters’ talent while keeping her enslaved. They died within a few years of this decision, and Peters soon met and married grocer John Peters. Her life afterwards was indicative of the troubled freedom of African Americans of the period, who were emancipated but not fully integrated into the promise of American citizenship. Peters was also affected by the loss of all three of her children—the birth of the last of whom caused her premature death at age 31 In 1784. Despite being feted as a prodigy while enslaved, the emancipated Peters struggled to find the support necessary for producing a second volume of poetry and her husband’s financial struggles forced her to find work as a scullery maid—the lowest position of domestic help. Posthumous publications of Peters’ poetry in various anthologies and periodicals solidified her image as a child poet for the benefit of abolitionist activism and African American cultural pride in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In the twenty-first century, the accumulation of this collection is a restoration of Peters the woman and the influence of her poetry and activism today.
label: Description
content: A hardcover book, Biographical Sketches and Interesting Anecdotes of Persons of Colour. To Which Is Added, a Selection of Pieces in Poetry, compiled by Abigail Mott and printed by Mahlon Day in New York. The book briefly profiles individuals including Francis Williams, Jasmin Thoumazeau, Ignatius Sancho, Attobah Cugoano, Phillis Wheatley, "Poor Sarah," "Alice, the Negro," Joseph Rachel, Captain Paul Cuffee, Solomon Bayley, Margaret Ann Crutchfield, John Williams, Zilpha Montjoy, Belinda Lucas, Gustavus Vassa, Toussaint L'Ouverture, "Billy and Jenny," Cornelius, Simeon Wilhelm, Lucy Cardwell, and Lott Carey. A second part contains "Interesting Anecdotes" and the third and final part contains selections of poetry, but does not include any selections by Wheatley.
label: Description
content: Owner signature of Joseph Horner, son of Princeton Quaker Isaac Horner dated 1827 is found on back flyleaf. Leather covers are worn, and a loss on front cover is possibly to insect damage. Interior pages are yellowed with foxing. Pages 91 through 110 stand out from the rest of the text block and are not discolored. Staining in the bottom right corner of the pages. Book has been rebound; the spine looks incongruous but is stable. 192 numbered pages.
place: label: Place printed
content: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
title: label: Title
content: Book featuring biography of Phillis Wheatley
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Literature
label: Topic
content: Poetry
label: Topic
content: Slavery
label: Topic
content: Women
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Collection title
content: Phillis Wheatley Peters Collection
label: Classification
content: Books and Published Materials
label: Movement
content: Anti-slavery movements
label: Movement
content: Abolitionist movement
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: A2021.113.1.20
objectType: label: Type
content: hardcover books
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Public domain
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: ink on paper with leather and cardboard
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 7 1/16 × 4 7/16 × 13/16 in. (18 × 11.2 × 2 cm)