Life of William Grimes, the Runaway Slave. Written by Himself

Life of William Grimes, the Runaway Slave. Written by Himself

Grimes, William 1784-1865

1825

Author: Grimes, William 1784-1865; Publication Information: New York: [W. Grimes], 1825.

UNC Documenting the South

[W. Grimes]

New York

63 p. 24 cm.

DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT, ss. BE IT REMEMBERED, That on the twenty-eighth day of January, in the forty-ninth year of the Independence of the United States of America, WILLIAM GRIMES of the said District, hath deposited in this Office the title of a Book, the right whereof he claims as Author, in the words following, to wit: "The Life of William Grimes, the Runaway Slave. Written by Himself." In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, entitled, "An Act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the Authors and Proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned." CHARLES A INGERSOLL, Clerk of the District of Connecticut. A true copy of Record, examined and sealed by me. CHARLES A. INGERSOLL, Clerk of the District of Connecticut.

Republished in 1855, at which time Grimes had to advertise for a complete copy of the original in order to republish it as he apparently didn't have any himself. According to Susanna Ashton, first known copyright for full-length book by black man but Christopher McPherson's Christ's Millennium (1811) was possibly first (unclear if copyright under his name). For more on the publication history of Grimes' narratives, see Susanna Ashton's "Slavery, Imprinted: The Life and Narrative of William Grimes" in Early African American Print Culture (2012).