Phillis Wheatley Article in May 1773 Magazine, 4 Months Before Publication of Her Book of Poems

An issue of "The Gentleman's Magazine" containing an article on Phillis Wheatley. Taken from a larger volume, pp. 205-256, London, issue May 1773. By Sylvanus Urban and printed for D. Henry at St. John's Gate. On page 226 is a letter to the editor from John Wheatley, entitled "Some Account of Phillis, a learned Negro Girl." The binding at the left edge is rough from being removed from a larger volume. Light toning to the page edges. Very good overall.

The letter to the editor, Mr. Urban, reads in part:
"…Phillis was brought from Africa to America in the year 1761, between seven and eight years of age, without any assistance from school education; and by only what she was taught in the family, she, in sixteen months time from her arrival, attained the English language, to which she was an utter stranger before, to such a degree as to read any the most difficult parts of the sacred writings, to the great astonishment of all who heard her. As to her writing, her own curiosity led her to it; and this she learned in so short a time, that, in the year 1765, she wrote a letter to the Rev. Mr. Occom, the Indian minister, while in England. She has a great inclination to learn the Latin tongue, and has made some progress in it. This relation is given by her master, who bought her, and with whom she now lives."

Phillis Wheatley Peters, (c.?1753-1784) was an American author who is considered the first African-American author of a published book of poetry. She was kidnapped from her home in West Africa and subsequently sold into slavery at the age of seven or eight. She was bought by the Wheatley family of Boston who taught her to read and write and encouraged her poetry when they saw her talent. In 1773, during a trip to London, Wheatley met several prominent people who became her patrons and facilitated the publication of her "Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral" on September 1, 1773. The book was a great success and brought her fame both in England and the American colonies, including praise from such prominent figures as George Washington. Wheatley was emancipated by the Wheatleys shortly after the publication of her book of poems.

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