DOUGLASS, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Presented to Ossie Davis, 1961. 

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself. Dublin: Webb and Chapman, 1846. Frontispiece portrait. Small 8vo, modern wine-colored polished calf. With the following in gilt on front cover, "To Ossie Davis from Freedomways, 1961." With 1858 inscription on verso of frontispiece.

Second Dublin Edition of Douglass's famous memoir of his life as an enslaved man. It became a bestseller upon release, selling 5,000 copies within the first four months of its publication, and became one of the most important pieces of literature in the abolitionist movement. Following its publication, Douglass spent two years in England and Ireland in fear of being recaptured by his former slave holder. While overseas, he gained a considerable amount of followers, who eventually raised enough money to purchase his emancipation. By 1850, 30,000 copies of the Narrative had been published, and it was followed by two more autobiographies, My Bondage and My Freedom (1855) and Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881).

Raiford Chatman "Ossie" Davis (1917-2005) and his wife Ruby Dee (1922-2014) were celebrated American actors and Civil Rights activists.