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FREDERICK DOUGLASS. His letter on the controversial "Colored American Day" at the 1893 World's Fair, enclosing a pair of tickets. Typed Letter Signed to F.P. Noble, Secretary of the African Congress, 7¼ x 4¾ inches; minor wear including ¼-inch separations at mailing folds. With original envelope addressed to Noble, stamped but not postmarked; and two tickets to the World's Columbian Exposition good for 25 August, each 1¾ x 3¼ inches. No place, 1 August 1893
The 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago was perhaps the most important of the World's Fairs of the 19th century. African Americans were excluded from the planning process, and from all but the most menial service employment once the fair began. Frederick Douglass, by then an aged veteran of yet larger struggles, contributed the introduction to a pamphlet distributed at the fair: "The Reason Why the Colored American Is Not in the World's Columbian Exposition." He also participated in the fair, as a representative of Haiti, the lone Black nation which had a pavilion; he had previously served as the United States ambassador to Haiti. When the management announced a token "Colored American Day" at the fair for 25 August 1893, Ida Wells and other activists refused to participate, but Douglass reluctantly took the opportunity to showcase some of the achievements of years since abolition, and he delivered a speech at the event.
This letter invites a journalist to the fair, hoping that they will report on his keynote speech. In full:
"Dear sir, As you may already know, this date of August 25, 1893 is the celebration known as 'Colored American Day' to be held at the Chicago's World's Fair. Please accept the enclosed two tickets and join me on that day, if not to celebrate then to critique my words for your esteemed publication. Very truly yours, Frederick Douglass."
The recipient of this letter, Frederick Perry Noble (1863-1945), was a white missionary; he served as the secretary of the 1893 Chicago African Congress, and as a librarian specializing in Africa at Chicago's Newberry Library. The envelope was either delivered by hand, or was never sent; in any event, Noble never took advantage of the free tickets.
