This book by Ralph Waldo Emerson is titled "An Address Delivered In The Court-House In Concord, Massachusetts, On 1st August, 1844, On The Anniversary Of The Emancipation Of The Negroes In The British West Indies. It was published in Boston by James Munroe And Company by Request, and it is Emerson's scathing condemnation of the American slave trade and the institution of slavery. The book is a first edition, 3/4 bound, with two raised bands and gilt lettering on the spine, marbled covers, marbled endpapers with the bookplate of Edward G. Miner, the title page followed by the copyright page, which is dated 1844, and we know it is a first edition because the date on the title page and copyright page match, and there is just a single date on the copyright page, which makes this a first edition. See BAL 5199. Emerson did not become an ardent abolitionist until 1844, though his journals show he was concerned with slavery when he was a youth, even dreaming about helping to free slaves. In June 1856, shortly after Charles Sumner, a United States Senator, was beaten for his staunch abolitionist views, Emerson lamented that he himself was not as committed to the cause. After Sumner's attack, Emerson began to speak out even more about slavery. In his role as minister, Emerson used slavery as an example of human injustice. In 1838, provoked by the murder of an abolitionist publisher from Alton, Illinois, Emerson gave his first public antislavery address. But he maintained that reform would be achieved better through moral agreement than by militant action. By August 1844, at this lecture in Concord, he stated his support for the abolitionist movement more clearly. Emerson believed that slavery should be abolished, but he struggled with the idea of race. His liberal leanings did not clearly take when it came to believing that all races were equal, and critics believe that his views on race kept him from becoming an abolitionist earlier in his life and inhibited him from being more active in the antislavery movement. Much of his early life, he was silent on the topic, and not until he was well into his 30's did he begin to publish writings on race and slavery, and not until he was in his late 40's and 50's did he became known as an antislavery activist. The book is 8vo. and measures 8 5/8 x 6 in. wide, with a tight binding and very clean pages and text, and just a smidge of rubbing at the crown and heel and at the tips. and in great condition otherwise. We found only one first edition copy listed in Special Collections, according to WorldCat (at the British Library in London), which is a surprise to us. We thought there would be other copies of the first edition found in Special Collections around the world, but if they are, they're not listed in WorldCat. So a rare and important book about slavery in the western hemisphere, by a very important American writer and speaker. See A Pocket Guide to the Identification of First Editions, published by Bill McBride. #16 #1667