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Estimate: $ 600 - $ 900
Keckley, Elizabeth (1818-1907) Behind the Scenes, or Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House.
New York: Carleton, 1868.
First edition, 12mo, author's portrait frontispiece facing title page; bound in original green publisher's cloth boards blocked in blind, spine lettered in gilt; minor wear; lacking ffep, flyleaf and half-title, first few leaves becoming detached, moderate foxing and minor wear, 7 1/4 x 4 3/4 in.
"This revealing narrative [Behind the Scenes] reflected on Elizabeth's fascinating story, detailing her life experiences from slavery to her successful career as First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln's dressmaker. At the time of its publication, the book was controversial. It soured her close relationship with Mrs. Lincoln and destroyed the reputation of both women. Although the American public was not prepared to read the story of a free Black woman assuming control of her own life narrative at the time of publication, her recollections have been used by many historians to reconstruct the Lincoln White House and better understand one of the nation's most fascinating and misunderstood first ladies. Her story is integral to White House history and understanding the experiences of enslaved and free Black women." (Quoted from Lina Mann's From Slavery to the White House: The Extraordinary Life of Elizabeth Keckly, published by The White House Historical Association as part of the Slavery in the President's Neighborhood initiative: https://www.whitehousehistory.org/from-slavery-to-the-white-house-the-extraordinary-life-of-elizabeth-keckly.
