[MORE HANNAH] The Sorrows of Yamba; Or The Negro Womans Lame

Sale 2377 - Lot 19

Price Realized: $ 1,625

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Estimate: $ 1,500 - $ 2,500

[MORE, HANNAH]. The Sorrows of Yamba; Or The Negro Woman's Lamentation, to the tune of Hosier's Ghost. Broadside poem, 17-3/4 x 10-1/2 inches, printed in three columns with engraved borders and engraved vignette, 2-3/4 x 3 inches at the top beneath the title; creases where folded; a couple of tiny holes where droplets of iron gall ink have oxidized through; heavy hand-laid, rag paper evenly toned. London: Sold by J. Marshall, printer to the Cheap Repository, circa 1795-1798

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An epic poem written by Hannah More (and Eaglesfield Smith) as part of the "Cheap Repository" series. A classic piece of abolitionist poetry, reprinted innumerable times, often copied, and in one instance turned into an almost novel-like account. Yamba is typical of the sort of religious abolitionism of the day that always included conversion to Christianity as salvation from slavery, rather than simple emancipation. Ms. More's poem deals with the African mother Yamba, and how she and her child are taken by slave-traders. There follows a poetical and horrific account of their "Middle Passage," to St. Lucie in the West Indies, the death of her child, her suffering at the hands of a cruel slave owner on a plantation, her eventual conversion to Christianity, and her death. We could find no other copy of this broadside.