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Phillis Wheatley
(ca. 1753-1784)
Phillis Wheatley was the first African American author to publish a book of poetry--and, as an enslaved woman, she staked her claim to authorship in a courtroom in Boston.
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Phillis Wheatley (ca. 1753–1784) Poems on various subjects, religious and moral. London: Printed for A. Bell, and sold by Messrs. Cox and Berry, King-street, Boston, 1773.
Phillis Wheatley’s preface begins with a traditional feminine apology: “She had no intention ever to have published.” Yet, when Massachusetts printers refused to acknowledge an enslaved woman as an author, Wheatley testified before a Boston court—including fourteen Harvard examiners—to prove her identity. In London, she published this book of poetry, the first by an African American author. Her autograph appears on the verso of this particular volume’s title page (below), with her portrait appearing opposite the title page. The engraving illustrates the emancipated Wheatley as an intellectual authority—you might even notice similarities to Esther Inglis’s portrait, displayed in the first digital case ("A Code of Her Own").
AC7.W5602.773p (B). Source and date of acquisition unknown.
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