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IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
This media is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
This media is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
Artist
Robert Langton, 1825 - 13 Sep 1900
Sitter
Henry Box Brown, 1815 - 15 Jun 1897
Date
1851
Type
Book
Medium
Wood engraving on paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 10 × 17.1 cm (3 15/16 × 6 3/4")
Book closed: 17.8 × 11.1 × 1 cm (7 × 4 3/8 × 3/8")
Book open: 17.8 × 21.1 cm (7 × 8 5/16")
Topic
Tool
Tool\Hammer
Container\Box
Henry Box Brown: Male
Henry Box Brown: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Abolitionist
Henry Box Brown: Performing Arts\Performer
Henry Box Brown: Society and Social Change\Enslaved person
Henry Box Brown: Performing Arts\Performer\Magician
Portrait
Place
United States\Pennsylvania\Philadelphia\Philadelphia
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.2016.116
Exhibition Label
Born Luisa County, Virginia
After enduring the tragic separation from his wife and children, who were sold to a plantation owner in distant North Carolina, Henry Brown became determined to escape slavery. He had himself shipped in a wooden box to the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society in Philadelphia. Against all odds, he arrived safely on March 24, 1849. Brown commemorated his harrowing twenty-seven-hour journey by assuming the middle name “Box” and publishing this autobiographical account, which became a classic among slave narratives. The frontispiece recreates his dramatic emergence from the wooden box that nearly became his coffin. Brown later traveled through the United States and Britain as a public speaker and magician.
Nacido en el Condado de Luisa, Virginia
Luego de sufrir la trágica separación de su esposa e hijos, que fueron vendidos al dueño de una plantación en la lejana Carolina del Norte, Henry Brown tomó la decisión de escapar de la esclavitud, y se hizo enviar en una caja de madera a la Sociedad Antiesclavista de Pensilvania, en Filadelfia. Contra toda probabilidad, llegó sano y salvo el 24 de marzo de 1849. Brown conmemoró su angustioso viaje de veintisiete horas adoptando “Box” (Caja) como segundo nombre y publicando su relato autobiográfico, que se convirtió en un clásico de la narrativa sobre los esclavos. El frontispicio del libro recrea su dramática salida de la caja de madera que casi fue su féretro. Más adelante, Brown viajó por Estados Unidos y Gran Bretaña como orador y prestidigitador.
