The little abolitionist; or, the negro’s friend.

London, Darton and Clark, Holborn Hill, [in or before 1841].

16mo. [half-title; frontispiece plate; [4], 124 pp. Collation: A–H⁸, I⁶.

Contemporary dark blue morocco, gilt-tooled title “LITTLE ABOLITIONIST” on front cover, gilt edges.

A very charming and enigmatic little anti-slavery book of great rarity. Illustrated with a lithographed frontispiece depicting the iconic kneeling enslaved man — emblem of the British abolitionist movement — the volume contains five moral tales: The Little Abolitionist (pp. 1–87), The Wanderer’s Return (pp. 88–104), Master and Slave (pp. 107–114), Earth and Her Children (pp. 115–119), and The Fakeham Ghost (pp. 120–124).
The work appears to have been especially aimed at a female readership. Both recorded copies — at the Morgan Library and at UCLA (YRL) — bear contemporary inscriptions by women. The UCLA copy is dated 1841, establishing a terminus ante quem for publication, while the Morgan inscription is dated 1845.
Located only in WorldCat (Morgan Library and UCLA copies). Not in KVK (Karlsruhe Virtual Catalogue). No copies in the British Library, Oxford, or Cambridge. No mention found in the scholarly literature.

Condition: slight wear to corners; inner front hinge cracked but holding; minor thumbing. Otherwise a clean, very good copy in an attractive contemporary binding.