Details
Contributor Wedgwood, Josiah, 1730-1795. Kneeling slave Adaptations.
Title These are to certify, that [blank] is a member of the New-Jersey Society, for promoting the abolition of slavery. [blank] Presdt. Secy. [blank] [graphic].
Publisher [New Jersey] : [publisher not identified]
Publisher N.J. 1800
Date [ca. 1800]
Physical Description 1 print : stipple engraving ; sheet 39 x 28 cm (15.25 x 11 in.)
Description Abolition society certificate depicting a white, Federal-era man pointing toward a chained, kneeling enslaved man who declares, "Am I not a Man and brother!" In the left, the enslaved man, attired in a white loincloth and with chains binding his hands to his feet, kneels down on his right knee upon a marble pedestal and clasps his hands together. In the right, the white man, attired in a white cravat, a waistcoat, a jacket, breeches, and black shoes, stands and holds in his left hand a Bible opened to Isaiah 61:1 atop the marble altar, which is inscribed with the verse: "He came to proclaim liberty to the captive, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound." Heavenly beams shine down upon them through an opening in the clouds. The New Jersey abolition society was established in 1793.
Notes Unused certificate.
Title from item.
Illustration of a kneeling male slave on the certificate is a variant of the image popularized by Josiah Wedgwood. Formed in 1787, the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade designed and adopted as its seal the image of a kneeling African male slave asking, "Am I not a man and a brother?" That same year, Wedgwood, a ceramics manufacturer and member of the Committee, issued the image as a medallion, which was distributed in America. The image became a popular anti-slavery icon and was soon widely reproduced on artifacts and in print in the United States and in Britain. During the 1820s, a female counterpart with the motto, "Am I not a woman and a sister?" was created by British abolitionists and quickly embraced in the United States, particularly among women abolitionists.
Accessioned 1968.
RVCDC
Description revised 2021.
Access points revised 2021.
Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Subject New-Jersey Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery.
Bible. Isaiah.
Abolitionists -- New Jersey -- Societies, etc.
Antislavery movements -- New Jersey.
Men, Black.
Pointing fingers.
Slavery.
Slaves.
Black men.
Enslaved men.
Genre Anti-slavery prints -- 1790-1800.
Engravings -- 1790-1800.
Membership certificates -- 1790-1800.
Location Library Company of Philadelphia| Print Department| *GC-Certificates [7762.F]
Accession number 7762.F