Tit for tat. A novel

New York: Garret & Company, 1856. First American edition, 8vo, pp. [2], iv, iv, [2], 356, [4]; original brown blindstamped cloth; gilt lettering on spine; spine extremities a bit scuffed; spine faded; binding a bit skewed; otherwise very good. The author of this anonymous work has been attributed either to Matthew Estes, the author of A Defence of Negro Slavery (1846), or Marion Southwood, the author of Beauty and Booty: The Watchword of New Orleans (1867). On the spine the title reads: Tit for Tat: A Reply to Dred, probably in reference to Dred Scott, an enslaved African-American who unsuccessfully sued for his freedom and citizenship in the 1857 Supreme Court case of Dred Scott v. Sanford. In the preface, the author criticises the hypocrisy of British citizens for directing their outrage at American slavery, but not the state of their own "slaves," namely, Britain's exploited class of chimney sweeps. Wright II, 2288 identifies the author as Southwood. NUC identifies the author as Estes. LCP/HSP Afro-Americana Catalogue, 9661, author remains unidentified.