Isaac Knapp
Isaac Knapp | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Newburyport, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | September 14, 1843 (aged 39) |
| Occupation(s) | Printer, publisher, bookseller |
| Known for | Partnership with William Lloyd Garrison in publishing The Liberator; abolitionist activism |
Isaac Knapp (January 11, 1804 – September 14, 1843) was a prominent American printer, publisher, and bookseller based in Boston, Massachusetts, who actively supported the abolitionist cause. He is chiefly recognized for his partnership with William Lloyd Garrison in producing and distributing the anti-slavery newspaper The Liberator.
Biography
Born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, Knapp was the son of Philip Coombs Knapp and Abigail Remmick. By 1825, he owned the Essex Courant newspaper in his hometown.
Between 1831 and 1839, Knapp collaborated with William Lloyd Garrison to publish the abolitionist periodical The Liberator. He was also instrumental in founding the New England Anti-Slavery Society. His printing operations initially took place on Congress Street before relocating to Cornhill in Boston. Toward the end of the 1830s, Knapp shifted focus from printing to managing a bookstore, where he regularly promoted abolitionist literature.
Knapp's name ceased to appear on The Liberator masthead as of January 1840. By mid-1840, abolitionist printers Dow and Jackson were advertised as his successors. The exact cause of this transition remains uncertain. Garrison described Knapp as a loyal companion but acknowledged his limited business skills and financial difficulties, which resulted in debt and personal challenges. Garrison believed that Knapp’s exit was necessary for the continued viability of the publication.
In 1841, Knapp asserted that he had been wrongfully excluded from his stake in The Liberator by Garrison and a wealthy partner, announcing intentions to launch a new paper titled Knapp's Liberator. However, only a single issue was released on January 8, 1842; the only surviving copy is preserved by the Massachusetts Historical Society.
Knapp as bookseller
- Isaac Knapp compiled and published a catalog of anti-slavery titles appended to Narrative of Joanna; An Emancipated Slave, of Surinam (1838), demonstrating his involvement in distributing abolitionist works.
- In an 1837 edition of The Liberator, he featured a "Descriptive Catalogue of Anti-Slavery Works," which included significant abolitionist publications such as Adams' Letters, Birney's Second Letter, Channing on Slavery, Miss Grimke's Appeal, and Whittier's Poems.
- A comparable catalog appeared in 1838 under the heading "Standard Anti-Slavery Books for Sale by Isaac Knapp," emphasizing his Cornhill location as a hub for abolitionist literature.
- In 1839, The Rochester Freeman printed another inventory of anti-slavery books and pamphlets available through Knapp, indicating his sustained presence in abolitionist publishing and retail.
Further reading
- (mentions Knapp)
External links
- (digitized letters)
- 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people)
- 19th-century American newspaper founders
- People from Newburyport, Massachusetts
- 19th century in Boston
- 1804 births
- 1843 deaths
- 19th-century American journalists
- American male journalists
- 19th-century American male writers
- American booksellers
- William Lloyd Garrison