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Letter from John Andrews to William Barrell, 24 February 1773 and response from William Barrell to John Andrews, 22 March 1773

Letter from John Andrews to William Barrell, 24 February 1773 and response from William Barrell to John Andrews, 22 March 1773

page:

  • 1
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  • 4

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    30.5 cm x 18.1 cm

    From the Andrews-Eliot correspondence
    [Pages 1-3 contain the letter from Andrews, pages 3-4 contain the response from Barrell.]


    In this letter from Jonathan Andrews to William Barrell written on 24 February 1773, he discusses Phillis's book of poems and the problem of the public "not crediting ye performance to be by a Negro." This skepticism prompted a group of leading Boston men (including the governor and the lieutenant governor) to attest in a written document to her authorship of the volume.  The "attestation" is printed at the front of the book.