Black abolitionists in Victorian Preston

In the middle of the nineteenth century a number of Black Americans who had escaped from slavery embarked on lecture tours around Britain, preaching the abolitionist message. Preston’s Corn Exchange was a frequent venue for these speakers

Hannah Murray, of Edinburgh University, has documented their lives and mapped their tours on her website: https://frederickdouglassinbritain.com/Map:Abolitionists/

Among the speakers who visited Preston was Henry “Box” Brown:

‘Henry Brown organised perhaps the most unusual and famous escape from American slavery, and as a result, became a celebrity on both the British and American stage.

‘Henry “Box” Brown (c.1815-1897) was born enslaved in Virginia. After watching his wife and three children be sold to a plantation in North Carolina, he resolved to escape.

‘With the help of a friend, he crammed himself into a box and mailed himself to Philadelphia, a trip that lasted 27 hours.

‘Brown’s Narrative described how the box was turned upside down for several hours, and he thought he would pass out from the crushing weight on his head. Thankfully, abolitionists were waiting in Philadelphia to release him.

‘Brown discovered his story lent very well to the entertainment stage, and often recreated this experience for the abolitionist circuit: for example, he boxed himself up again in Bradford and was taken to the train station, and released to much aplomb in Leeds.

‘Brown also created a panorama of slavery, and he became a commercial success in Britain throughout the 1850s. To maintain audience interest, he tried his hand at mesmerism and spiritualism, and even became a magician, performing both in Britain and when he returned to the United States.’

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See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Box_Brown