Six Hundred Thousand Despots
Six Hundred Thousand Despots
Embedded Files
A companion piece to Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, by Harriet Jacobs.
John Swanson Jacobs was her brother.
Artwork sourced from:
A Handbook of Ornament. By Franz Sales Meyer. Published B. T. Batsford: London, 1896.
Text Sourced from:
"The United States Governed By Six Hundred Thousand Despots." Empire (Sydney, NSW: 1850-1875). 25 April 1855: 2-3; 26 April 2-3. Web.
Finished June 2026
Pages: 72
Title Page
Title Page
Color Scheme: purple and gold for royalty and power. Red, blue, and white/silver for the USA.
The only dark page in the book
Shortened / simplified title, with author
Copyright
Copyright
Border: Chains for slavery. Ornamental celtic pattern for prestige.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Original article did not have chapters, but it did have sections/headers, so the TOC uses those.
Tassel: for royalty/gov't authority
General Design Overview:
Ornament Symbolism:
Title Page: the injured golden lion, for the ways in which slavery is a betrayal of the United States' professed values
Chains, ribbons, and tassel: the type of ornamentation associated with government honor, prestige, and power
Gold and Purple: royalty and power
Red, white/silver, and blue: the United States
The Eagle: national symbol of the USA
Ornamental top border on body pages: featuring symbols of state, such as: the shield, the lion, a torch (see: statue of liberty), swords, an eagle's head, etc.
Wanted this to feel like something between a manifesto and an official government publication of highest honor. Built ornamental/design themes around the USA in particular, given that much of Swanson's argument focuses on slavery as betrayal of the U.S. Constitution.
The border placement mirrors that of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, deliberately. I wanted these to be read together, as two sides of the same coin, or two POVs of the same story.
Title Page Two
Title Page Two
The full title, but no author
First Page
First Page
The full title AGAIN, but now as a header (as it was originally published in the newspaper)
This header appeared at the beginning of Part Two. I did not repeat the header in the book for Part Two; I added a footnote indicating the divide, and combined both parts into a single document instead.
Blank Page
Blank Page
Unlike other typesets, I did not ornament the blank pages.
Body Left
Body Left
Ornamental border, featuring symbols of State/Gov't
Body Right
Body Right
Ornamental top border continued
Another chain, for slavery
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