Unboxing of Henry Brown

by Jeffrey Ruggles

The Unboxing of Henry Brown documents the amazing life of Henry Box Brown, the daring fugitive who shipped himself out of slavery in a sealed box. Based on more than a decade of research in the United States and England, author Jeffrey Ruggles's book tells the dramatic but true story of Brown, an industrial slave in Virginia, an abolitionist activist in New England, and a performer for a quarter-century on the English stage. Ruggles not only provides the most detailed account of the escape story yet published but also tells of Brown's development as a showman while exhibiting his painted panorama, The Mirror of Slavery . Just as Brown used imagery to recount the realities of American slavery, The Unboxing of Henry Brown features a rich collection of images related to his life, his published slave narrative, and his performances many presented for the first time.

232 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2003

Reviews

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henry Brown is little known today, but in the he was a member of the Black Atlantic, a man whose fame and reputation was known on two continents as the enslaved hero who mailed himself to freedom in a packing crate. This biography provides the back story and context for his life.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating discussion of Henry "Box" Brown and his life. I originally read this book because I'm interested in slavery and abolition in 19th century America. I had heard about Brown before reading this book, but only knew that he had escaped from slavery by shipping himself in a box from Virginia to Philadelphia.

However, as an art historian, I was especially surprised and interested in the discussion of what Brown did after he escaped from slavery. Brown created a moving panorama that depicted slavery, and Ruggles goes into great discussion about the popularity of the moving panorama in America and England. It was really interesting.