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(SLAVERY AND ABOLITION--SLAVE UPRISINGS.) STEDMAN, CAPTAIN JOHN GABRIEL. Narrative of a Five Years' Expedition Against the Revolted Natives of Surinam. Frontispieces, map & 78 inserted plates, 13 by William Blake. Map of Surinam and 81 inserted plates, etc, several by William Blake, collated perfect. Two volumes, 4to, contemporary full tree calf, re-cased at an earlier date; with red and black contrasting spine labels; the latter chipped; tips rubbed; some very slight offset here and there; internally quite fresh. London: J. Johnson, 1796
first edition of an important narrative Captain John Gabriel Stedman's (1744-1797) account of his expedition to Surinam, today's Guiana. There he found the natives, a mixture of local tribes and slaves in open revolt against the planters. But not without good cause, as several of the more horrific plates by William Blake would suggest. One in particular, "The Flagellation of a Female Samboe Slave" depicts a woman strung up on the branch of a tree by her wrists. This engraving is often cited when discussing the abuses of slave owners. Abbey Travel, pages 637-640.
