Original woodblock, likely box- or pearwood, captioned "Am I Not a Man and a Brother?" Likely New York: circa 1837. 9 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches (24 x 19.5 cm); assembled from approximately thirteen blocks. Several minor surface scratches to the block; the block has not been completely cleared, but is fully printable. Attractively framed with an accomplished print from the block.

In most regards, the engraving of this block is very exactly rendered as that which appears on John Greenleaf Whittier's famous anti-slavery broadside of 1837, "Our Countrymen in Chains." The shading of the kneeling figure is virtually identical, though we note that the joint between blocks vertically crossing the forearms in the published broadside is positioned differently from the present example, which must therefore be either a slightly earlier version or a successor. Given that this block was never "cleared" — i.e. had the background cut away so the figure would stand in clear relief when the block was printed—inclines us to the opinion that this is more likely to be a rejected first effort. In any case, it is American and with near certainty prepared in New York circa 1837 in Abolitionist circles. The printed broadside was sold at the Anti-Slavery Office, 144 Nassau Street.

A potent symbol of the injustice of slavery, the "Am I Not a Man and a Brother?" design originated as the seal of the Society for the Abolition of Slavery in England in the 1780s, and it appears in medallions prepared by Josiah Wedgewood for the Society as early as 1787. The motto itself survived through the 20th century, appearing on the placards carried by Detroit Sanitation workers the day Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. The present woodblock is a remarkable survival.