Rare lithographed plate of the powerful diagram of a "Slave Ship" by J. H. Buffords, removed from the book The Cabinet of Freedom: The History of the Rise, Progress and Accomplishment of the Abolition of the African Slave-Trade by the British Parliament, Vol. II, published in New York by John S. Taylor in 1836. Unfolded and displayed to an overall size of 17.25 x 12.25, the plate illustrates in several cross-section figures the horrifying method of stowing slaves aboard a cargo ship. The basis of the image is a diagram of the British slave ship 'Brookes' first published in 1788 by the Plymouth Chapter of the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade. It was subsequently widely distributed by abolitionists and used in a number of contemporary texts, including Clarkson's. It is one of the enduring images of the abolitionist movement, and a stark reminder of the brutality of the institution of slavery. Mounted and framed with two other pages from said book (images of restraints and a list of ship measurements) to an overall size of 27.75 x 17.25; Plexiglas to the frame backing reveals three windows containing the book’s title and half-title pages, as well as pages 294 and 295, which contain the poem The Negro's Complaint by William Cowper. In very good condition, with a bit of foxing, small losses along the fold in the bottom figure, and a few partial edge tears (not affecting the illustrations).
