<I>The Poems of Phillis Wheatley. As they were originally published in London, 1772</I>
date: label: Date
content: 1909
name: label: Written by
content: Phillis Wheatley Peters, American, ca. 1753 - 1784
label: Published by
content: R. R. and C. C. Wright, American
label: Printed by
content: A.M.E. Book Concern, American
label: Illustrated by
content: Scipio Moorhead, ca. 1750 - unknown
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: Hardcover book, The Poems of Phillis Wheatley, published by R. R. and C. C. Wright, and printed by A. M. E. Book Concern in Philadelphia, 1909. Red cloth cover with embossed wheel motif across top and bottom. At center is an oval roundel portrait of Phillis Wheatley, attributed to Scipio Moorhead, depicting her in profile, facing proper right, seated at a desk, and holding a quill to paper in her right hand. Her left hand is raised to her face in thought. Larger version of portrait serves as frontispiece. The book is in very good condition overall, with only a light stain along left center of front cover and small spots of white paint at bottom left corner. Interior pages are slightly yellowed. 88 numbered pages.
place: label: Place printed
content: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: African Methodist Episcopal
label: Topic
content: Black Press
label: Topic
content: Literature
label: Topic
content: Poetry
label: Topic
content: Slavery
label: Topic
content: The Black Church
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: A2021.113.1.27
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 cloth and cardboard
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 7 1/2 × 5 1/2 × 3/8 in. (19 × 13.9 × 1 cm)