The true first edition of an important autobiography by holiness evangelist, and former enslaved person, Amanda Smith.

Amanda Smith [1837-1915]  was a remarkable African-American evangelist and missionary. Born into slavery in Maryland in 1837, she gained her freedom and become prominent as one of the most dynamic preachers of the age, a sort of Phyllis Wheatley of the pulpit.

She traveled extensively a missionary-evangelist and published her celebrated autobiography in 1893. One of the first extensive female former slave narratives to be popular, it was a financial success. She used the proceeds to establish an orphanage for African-American children.

Smith, Amanda. An Autobiography. The Story of the Lord's Dealings with Mrs. Amanda Smith. The Colored Evangelist. Containing an Account of Her Life Work of Faith, and Her Travels in America, England, Ireland, Scotland, India and Africa, as an Independent Missionary. With an Introduction by Bishop Thoburn, of India. Chicago. Meyer & Brother, Publishers. 1893. 506pp.

A good copy, bound in cloth, lightly shaken, with the first signature nearly disbound. Pages are generally bright, with some toning. Ownership inscriptions on the prelims.