MAYER, Brantz. Twenty Years of an African Slaver or Captain Canot.

(London): Routledge Warne and Routledge, 1861.  New edition.  Hardcover. 17cm by 11cm.  XVI, 288 pages.  Very scarce edition Adapted from the journals, memoranda, and conversations of French-Italian seafarer and notorious slaver Captain Theodore Canot, this vivid and unexaggerated depiction of the slave trade between Africa and the New World is prized as a firsthand account of every aspect of the industry, from how slaves are purchased to the first reactions of newly arrived slaves to the New World and beyond. Explicit and shocking, this volume is also a startling illustration of the racist attitudes of its day, from Canot’s justifications for the slave trade to the introduction by American journalist Brantz Mayer, who compiled Canot’s material for publication and defended his subject’s work. This is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of American slavery.  A very good copy issued as part of Routledge’s ‘Railway and Sea-Side Reading’ series (new editions with fancy covers).  Seemingly extremely rare, presumably because of the despobile nature of the edition.  Not recorded in Topp and not found in WorldCat.