Twelve Years a Slave: Narrative of Solomon Northup, a citizen of New-York, kidnapped in Washington City in 1841, and rescued in 1853, from a cotton plantation near the Red River, in Louisiana.
Solomon Northup
1853, New York
 
First edition, first issue with four page catalog at the front and complete with all illustrations. Evidence of old cleaning and joint strengthening, scattered foxing and one gathering a bit sprung. Those points notwithstanding, a Very Good sound copy and rare in non-horrific condition. Mid-19th century sticker of Montreal bookseller, B. Dawson.
 
The book is a truly compelling read, and I think much better than the 2013 film. It's a piece worthy of a space on the shelf for its imprint on American history.
 
"...an immediate bombshell in the national debate over slavery leading up to the Civil War. It validated Harriett Beecher Stowe's fictional account of Southern slavery in Uncle Tom's Cabin, which had become the best-selling American book in history a few years earlier, and significantly changed public opinion in favor of abolition." (Buffalo Library)