Letter from John Bishop Estlin, Bristol, [England], to Otis James, 1845 November 5

John Bishop Estlin writes to James Otis in regards to F[rederick] Douglass's Narrative. He writes that because Mr. James has been interested in Douglass's life, he suggests that there be an omission of a few lines "following the part in the Boston edition (which I obtained from America) of page 62 the horrid part of the 'slave breeding' iniquities of Slavery is too important a fortune to be left out of view in communicating information on the subject, but I should have been very glad had H.D. not described so minutely as he has done, Covey's proceedings with his..breeder." He says he could not circulate it among friends, particularly the ladies until he erased all the paragraph after the "statement that Covey intended the woman he bought for a 'breeder.'" He writes that his daughter has been busy collecting from friends articles for the Boston anti-slavery fair. He was intending to write up a concise statement of the aims of abolitionists but a severe illness prevented him from doing so. He explains that he is a regular vendor of the "Liberator" but he says that he does not agree with the way he handles other abolitionists who differ in his view. He believes he "greatly limits his power of serving the cause by repelling the sympathy of many common friends of A.S. who cannot accord in all his plans." He expects that Garrison will call the 'late noble Protest of 170 Unitarian Ministers a Proslavery Document." He believes that many American clergy "do not faithfully discharge their duty in not uttering damnation of the evils of slavery: some of them I believe are withheld from coming more forward by the violence of the Abolitionist societies." He does not doubt a ready sale of Douglas's Narrative and writes that Douglas "has been well advised in not making his tour a money getting one" but thinks his book should be sold at the door after his lectures. A separate note has been written with no author that states Miss Kinsley sends Mrs. Chapman a few things because "she has had so many calls of late, that she finds only a few things left which she can appropriate to Paris."

Courtesy of Boston Public Library

anti slavery collection boston public library rare books department abolitionists 19th century correspondence antislavery movements publishing history anti slavery fairs lectures and lecturing societies etc religious aspects christianity unitarians publishers and publishing slavery slave trade societies estlin j b john bishop 1785 1855 james otis garrison william lloyd 1805 1879 douglass frederick 1818 1895 liberator boston mass 1831 united kingdom england letters correspondence manuscripts english j b john bishop estlin 1785 1855 john bishop estlin otis james high resolution

1845

Boston Public Library

https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/

Public Domain