A SLAVE'S ADVENTURES TOWARD FREEDOM: Not Fiction, but the True Story of a Struggle
Toledo, Ohio: circa 1918. First Edition. Hardcover. Signed by Peter Bruner below his portrait opposite page 10. Small octavo: 54 pp. with 11 photographic illustrations. Original blue cloth binding, with white-stamped titling. Faint crease to the top corner of a few leaves. Some minor staining along the spine, which is leaning a bit. Scarce.
A late slave narrative but more importantly, a genuine one. All too often narratives were tainted by the missionary zeal of those who recorded the accounts of the formerly enslaved. Bruner (1845-1938) was for many years a custodian at the Western Female Seminary, Oxford College and Miami University. Born in Clark County, Kentucky, he bore the name of his owner, John Bell Bruner, who was in all likelihood his father as well. He fled enslavement in 1864 and enlisted in the United States Colored Troops, settling in Oxford, Ohio, after the war. This narrative was recorded by Bruner's daughter, Carrie, prior to her death in 1900, and includes an affectionate ode by Bruner's granddaughter, Edna Bradley. Good. Item #80517
Price: $1,750.00