Ian Ehling
Vice President, Head of Department
Americana
Lot 17
FREDERICK DOUGLASS RETURNS TO AMERICA A FREE MAN. DOUGLASS, FREDERICK. 1817-1895. Autograph Letter Signed ("Frederick Douglass") to "Dear Friend" ("beloved Sarah" and "Dear Sarah" in closing) on the proscription he endured aboard the Cambria during his voyage home to America as a "free man,"
25 October 2022, 10:00 EDT
New YorkSold for US$353,175 inc. premium
Looking for a similar item?
Our Books & Manuscripts specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialistAsk about this lot
Darren Sutherland
Specialist
FREDERICK DOUGLASS RETURNS TO AMERICA A FREE MAN.
DOUGLASS, FREDERICK. 1817-1895. Autograph Letter Signed ("Frederick Douglass") to "Dear Friend" ("beloved Sarah" and "Dear Sarah" in closing) on the proscription he endured aboard the Cambria during his voyage home to America as a "free man," 4to (250 x 198 mm), 4 pp, on a bifolium, Lynn, Mass, April 29, 1847, small tear to lower right corner of second leaf, very minor loss, paper remnants along fold of verso second leaf.
"I was well provided for and my apartments were as good as any on board — but I could not but feel I was there by compulsion and not there by option. I was there as a slave, and not as a man."
AN IMPORTANT AND PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN DOUGLASS LETTER ON A PIVOTAL EXPERIENCE OF HIS LIFE — HIS PROSCRIPTION ON THE CAMBRIA DURING HIS TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO AMERICA AS A FREE MAN. Frederick Douglass, with the help of his friends in Great Britain and Ireland, officially obtained his independence from George Auld in December 1846, and by March of 1847, he was ready to return to America as a free man. He booked passage aboard the Cambria, the same boat that had carried him to England in 1845, buying a first class ticket. On April 3, when he boarded the ship of Mersey, he found that his berth had been given away. Protesting, he was told that he could board the ship, but was proscribed to the steerage section and not allowed in the saloon—which Douglass characterizes here as, "... a miserable attempt to propitiate the American slaveholders and their abettors. These would have felt degraded to have been seated at the table with me—but not one of them but who would have been glad to have owned me as his slave."
The event set off a maelstrom in the press, beginning with Douglass's own April 3 letter sent to The Times denouncing his treatment. Following an April 6 editorial from The Times in support of Douglass, the entire incident was played out in the press from various sides for months, including a response from Mr. Cunard (the ship's owner) himself: "No one can regret more than I do the unpleasant circumstances respecting Mr. Douglass's passage; but I can assure you that nothing of the kind will again take place in the steam-ships with which I am connected."
For Douglass, the incident was more personal, as poignantly depicted in the letter. He begins with a description of his homecoming, the growth of his sons, and their joy at seeing him ("... eyes sparkling and dancing with very joy..."). He then discusses the incident aboard the Cambria in detail: "These wretched creatures could not indure me as a free man ... During the first few days of the voyage, I was weak enough to feel the degradation of my position... Had I been o the deck of an American steamer I could have indured the proscription better. I was well provided for and my apartments were as good as any on board — but I could not but feel I was there by compulsion and not there by option. I was there as a slave, and not as a man."
However, he is ultimately able to see his isolation as a blessing: "... solitary and alone, I could give myself up completely to the pleasure of contemplation. My spirit soared above the troubled waters — and dwelt with rapture and delight on the beloved friends who when a stranger and sojourner opened to me their hands their homes their hearts...."
Douglass left the United States for fear of being taken up as a fugitive, and found freedom in the U.K., where he was treated as an equal as he lectured throughout England, Scotland and Ireland. After finally winning his official freedom, the Cambria experience was a stark reminder of the struggle that awaited him in his home country.
Douglass's life was full of important Sarahs (Sarah Parker Remond, Sarah Grimke, Sarah Mapps Douglass, his sister Sarah), but unfortunately we have been unable to identify the present "beloved Sarah." After arriving in Boston on April 20, 1847, he travelled to Lynn and Douglass's published correspondence contains three letters from the period recording the voyage: April 21 to William Lloyd Garrison, and two more on April 29, one to William and Henry Smeal, and a second to Anna Richardson. From the tone of the letter, it is clear that Sarah was an important presence in his life.
This important letter is not recorded in Douglass's known correspondence, and appears to have been unknown to scholarship. Both poignant and of import, the letter to "beloved Sarah" makes an important addition to Frederick Douglass scholarship.
"I was well provided for and my apartments were as good as any on board — but I could not but feel I was there by compulsion and not there by option. I was there as a slave, and not as a man."
AN IMPORTANT AND PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN DOUGLASS LETTER ON A PIVOTAL EXPERIENCE OF HIS LIFE — HIS PROSCRIPTION ON THE CAMBRIA DURING HIS TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO AMERICA AS A FREE MAN. Frederick Douglass, with the help of his friends in Great Britain and Ireland, officially obtained his independence from George Auld in December 1846, and by March of 1847, he was ready to return to America as a free man. He booked passage aboard the Cambria, the same boat that had carried him to England in 1845, buying a first class ticket. On April 3, when he boarded the ship of Mersey, he found that his berth had been given away. Protesting, he was told that he could board the ship, but was proscribed to the steerage section and not allowed in the saloon—which Douglass characterizes here as, "... a miserable attempt to propitiate the American slaveholders and their abettors. These would have felt degraded to have been seated at the table with me—but not one of them but who would have been glad to have owned me as his slave."
The event set off a maelstrom in the press, beginning with Douglass's own April 3 letter sent to The Times denouncing his treatment. Following an April 6 editorial from The Times in support of Douglass, the entire incident was played out in the press from various sides for months, including a response from Mr. Cunard (the ship's owner) himself: "No one can regret more than I do the unpleasant circumstances respecting Mr. Douglass's passage; but I can assure you that nothing of the kind will again take place in the steam-ships with which I am connected."
For Douglass, the incident was more personal, as poignantly depicted in the letter. He begins with a description of his homecoming, the growth of his sons, and their joy at seeing him ("... eyes sparkling and dancing with very joy..."). He then discusses the incident aboard the Cambria in detail: "These wretched creatures could not indure me as a free man ... During the first few days of the voyage, I was weak enough to feel the degradation of my position... Had I been o the deck of an American steamer I could have indured the proscription better. I was well provided for and my apartments were as good as any on board — but I could not but feel I was there by compulsion and not there by option. I was there as a slave, and not as a man."
However, he is ultimately able to see his isolation as a blessing: "... solitary and alone, I could give myself up completely to the pleasure of contemplation. My spirit soared above the troubled waters — and dwelt with rapture and delight on the beloved friends who when a stranger and sojourner opened to me their hands their homes their hearts...."
Douglass left the United States for fear of being taken up as a fugitive, and found freedom in the U.K., where he was treated as an equal as he lectured throughout England, Scotland and Ireland. After finally winning his official freedom, the Cambria experience was a stark reminder of the struggle that awaited him in his home country.
Douglass's life was full of important Sarahs (Sarah Parker Remond, Sarah Grimke, Sarah Mapps Douglass, his sister Sarah), but unfortunately we have been unable to identify the present "beloved Sarah." After arriving in Boston on April 20, 1847, he travelled to Lynn and Douglass's published correspondence contains three letters from the period recording the voyage: April 21 to William Lloyd Garrison, and two more on April 29, one to William and Henry Smeal, and a second to Anna Richardson. From the tone of the letter, it is clear that Sarah was an important presence in his life.
This important letter is not recorded in Douglass's known correspondence, and appears to have been unknown to scholarship. Both poignant and of import, the letter to "beloved Sarah" makes an important addition to Frederick Douglass scholarship.
Additional information
News and stories
Bid now on these items
![APPLE COMPUTER, INC. THINK DIFFERENT: MAHATMA GANDHI. Printed vinyl banner with metal rail, 1562 x 692 mm, [Cupertino, c.1997/1998], the recto featuring an image of Mahatma Gandhi, the verso featuring "Apple" in white letters against a red ground.](/_next/image.jpg?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg2.bonhams.com%2Fimage%3Fsrc%3DImages%252Flive%252F2021-10%252F12%252F25060726-8-1.jpg%26width%3D650&w=2400&q=75)