Helen Hunt Jackson's A Century of Dishonor (1881)

[Helen Hunt Jackson]. A CENTURY OF DISHONOR: A SKETCH OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT'S DEALINGS WITH SOME OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. New York: Harper & Brothers, [1881]. First edition; later printing without the date on the title page. Hardcover. Blind- and gilt-stamped brown cloth-covered boards. 8vo; x, 457, [1]pp. plus 6pp. of advertisements. BAL 10444.

7 1/2 x 5 1/4 in.

From the Estate of the late Susan C. Frankenberg, Hillsborough, North Carolina

Based on extensive research, Jackson wrote A Century of Dishonor to draw attention to the horrible treatment of Native Americans in the wake of acts passed by the U.S. Congress in the 19th century, such as the Indian Appropriation Act of 1871. With the hope of encouraging reform, her book focuses on the treatment of the Delawares, Cheyennes, Nez Percés, Sioux, Poncas, Winnebagoes, and Cherokee, followed by a section on massacres and a lengthy appendix with testimonies and accounts demonstrating her considerable research.

Rubbing and scuffing to boards with a few small stains, bumped corners, and some light wear to spine ends; endpapers with bookplate on front paste-down, general wear, and numerous pasted newspaper clippings related to Jackson along with one pencil notation regarding her work; interior with toning, frequent ghosting from related (mostly late-19th-century) newspaper clippings previously and currently laid in loose, occasional foxing, soiling, and notations (mostly in pencil), and one clipping pasted to final page. A good copy.