<I>Twelve Years A Slave</I>
date: label: Date
content: 1853
name: label: Written by
content: Solomon Northup, American, 1808 - 1875
label: Published by
content: Derby and Miller, American, 1848 - 1853
notes: label: Description
content: This book is a first edition, seventeenth thousand printing copy of “Twelve Years A Slave Narrative of Solomon Northup, A Citizen of New York, Kidnapped in Washington City in 1841, and Rescued in 1853, and Rescued in 1853, From a Common Plantation Near the Red River, in Louisiana." The book has a brown cloth binding. The exterior spine is embossed with two lines running across the top and bottom of the spine. The title of the book has been embossed in gilt lettering [TWELVE/YEARS/A/SLAVE] across the top third of the spine and is surrounded by engraved flourishes. The name of the publishers [DARBY & MILLER] is embossed in gilt across the bottom of the spine. The front and back cover boards have been embossed with identical designs: two flourishes within two rectangles. The book has yellow end papers, a dedication to Harriet Beecher Stowe, a quote by Cowpee, an editor’s preface, twenty-two chapters and an appendix. The frontispiece is a portrait of Solomon Northup seated on a bench with his arms crossed. A facsimile of his signature is below the picture with a caption that reads, “IN HIS PLANTATION SUIT.” Three hundred and thirty-six pages with seven black and white plates.
label: Transcription Center Status
content: Transcribed by digital volunteers
place: label: Place printed
content: Auburn, Cuyahoga County, New York, United States, North and Central America
label: Place depicted
content: New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
label: Place depicted
content: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: American South
label: Topic
content: Antislavery
label: Topic
content: Domestic slave trade
label: Topic
content: Free communities of color
label: Topic
content: Law
label: Topic
content: Literature
label: Topic
content: U.S. History, 1815-1861
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Slavery and Freedom Objects
label: Classification
content: Books and Published Materials
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: 2014.262
objectType: label: Type
content: narratives
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 gold, cloth, and cardboard
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (Closed): 7 3/4 × 5 1/2 × 1 5/16 in. (19.7 × 14 × 3.4 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (Open): 7 3/4 × 11 1/2 × 4 1/8 in. (19.7 × 29.2 × 10.5 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (open at 90 degrees): 7 3/4 × 6 × 6 1/4 in. (19.7 × 15.2 × 15.9 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (open at 60 degrees): 7 3/4 × 5 3/4 × 5 3/4 in. (19.7 × 14.6 × 14.6 cm)