Page 136 - Swann Galleries - Printed & Manuscript Americana - Sale 2310 - April 16, 2013

302 ● (BARBADOS.) Fox, George. To the Ministers, Teachers, and Priests (So
Called, and so Stileing your Selves) in Barbadoes. 4to, modern 1/4 calf; interior
worn, with numerous tears (some crudely repaired) and punctures, early leaves and final
leaf worn at edges, but complete with only minimal loss of text.
[London], 1672 [1,000/1,500]
Fox was the founder of the Society of Friends, better known as the Quakers. He and a small
group of followers made a tumultuous visit to Barbados in 1671. In this pamphlet, Fox
denounces the Barbados clergy for a variety of sins, starting with their hostility to the Quakers,
but also for their mistreatment of slaves: “And if you be Ministers of Christ, are you not
Teachers of Blacks and Taunies (to wit, Indians) as well as of the Whites? . . . It seems your
Blacks, &c. are taught to Swear, and to Curse, and to say, God Dam them; and many of them
do swear almost at every word” (page 5). He reports that “once when a Black came to a Steeple-
House in time of worship, That the Sexton came to him with his Whip, and said unto him, Get
thee out, thou Dog; what do you here?”, and describes his own efforts to minister to the island’s
slaves, but denies the charge that “we have a Design to teach the Blacks to rebel” (page 77). He
also describes “the Whoredoms, and Debauchery, and Drunkenness, the Excess, Sensual
Pleasures, Carnal Delights, Carding, Diceing, Dancing, that these dayes are filled up with” (page
14). Guaranteed to be a more compelling read than the average theological tract. European
Americana 672/100; Handler, Barbados page 8; Smith, Friends’ Books page I:672. 7 copies
in ESTC; we have found no other copies offered separately at auction since 1918.
303 ● (COLOMBIA.) Pablo Escobar Gaviria en Caricaturas, 1983-1991
Numerous plates, 4 of them in color. [2]-377, [1] leaves. 4to, contemporary calf with
facsimile signature and fingerprint in gilt; minor foxing on a few leaves.
[Medellín, 1992] [1,000/1,500]
Compiled and self-published from prison by the famous Colombian cocaine trafficker Pablo
Escobar, this book consists mostly of cartoons relating to Escobar taken from various Spanish-
language and American newspapers. Its publication is steeped in mystery and legend. The final
colophon leaf reads “Este libro se termino de imprimir el dia 2 de junio de 1992”—the
month before Escobar’s escape from the luxury prison La Catedral. Allegedly all but ten copies
were destroyed shortly after his escape. The following year, he was shot while attempting to
escape the Colombian army on a rooftop in Medellín. No copies in WorldCat, and none
known to be sold through the traditional book trade, though at this writing one is offered on
eBay for $107,000.
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