Engraving depicts the author's experience of the Sabbath among slaves. As Bibb explained, having no moral or religious instruction, slaves generally "resort to the woods in large numbers on that day to gamble, fight, get drunk, and break the Sabbath." This behavior, Bibb noted, was encouraged by the slaveholders, who viewed the slaves' activities as a form of entertainment, and who liked to watch them fight, "dance, 'pat juber,' sing, and play the banjo." To this end, the slaves were often provided with whiskey. Accordingly, the illustration shows a slaveholder pouring a libation into a slave's glass. In the background left, a group of white men and women observe the Sabbath festivities., Illustration in Henry Bibb's Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb: an American Slave (New York: Published by the author, 5 Spruce Street, 1849), p 23., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes of Slave Life.
Creator
Strong, Thomas W., engraver
Date
[1849]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1849 Bibb 65732.D p 23, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2778
