a1878: Joys of a very rare book: "Dessalines"

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

>From Bob Corbett:

Today's mail brought me a book I've been watching out for since I
purchased it about 10 days ago.  It is a play called "Dessalines"
written in 1893 by William Edgar Easton.

I think as any of you realize, there is very little written which FEATURES
Dessalines.  He is often in the histories, or course.  But many other
individual Haitians get singled out for special accolades, especially
Toussaint and Christophe of the revolutionary period.

Easton knew precisely why this was and that he was stiring up a hornet's
nest.  In his introduction he allows that this work will shock since it
celebrates the life and revolutionary fervor of Dessalines and he realizes
this is an unpopular view.  But, he (a black American writer) believes
that he must be celebrated him and thus this play dedicated to Dessalines,
which was performed at least once in Boston.

Easton wrote two plays.  About 10 years after the Dessalines play he
wrote one on Christope.  I had found that one about 10 years ago and
knew of the Dessalines' play from bibliographies, but had never seen
a copy, being unable to even find one for interlibrary loan.  Then
about two weeks ago one of the dealers who unearths some quite rare books
for me wrote to say:  do you know this one..... and today it arrived,
a lovely 5 x 7 black leather bound book with gold leaf pages, a bit
banged up, but a very loverly and extremely rare find.

Ah, things like this just make my day!!!

Bob Corbett