Detective Work in Progress

In this blog, I explore how Deborah Sampson, a female soldier in the American Revolution, is represented in the 1797 text, The Female Review: Life of Deborah Sampson, by Herman Mann.



Detective Work in Progress


Down the silent, narrow corridor I crept, completely immersed in the impending discovery. I knew by the stillness in the air that I discovered a treasure few people happen upon. Then, I saw it peeking from the end of the bookshelf, a red jewel, my very own copy of Herman Mann’s The Female Review: Life of Deborah Sampson, to keep—I mean borrow from the UCF library.

I had found the 1972 Arno Press edition of the text which reproduced the original text in almost exact form, surrounded by the subsequent 1866 publishing, by Wiggin & Lunt, which included an introduction and notes by John Adams Vinton. I had an interesting time looking up roman numerals on the recreates title pages to decipher the print dates.

Of course not being satisfied with a reprint, I continued to search for the original text.

I am quite proud to say that I actually remembered how to operate a microfilm machine from when I was a little girl. Though I never used one of these lumbering dinosaurs for my undergraduate research, I still recall the cavernous public library that my mother brought me to while researching for her college courses and her patient instructions on how to use the microfilm.

The text was first published in Dedham, Massachusetts, in 1797, by Nathaniel and Benjamin Heaton. I think they were a small family printing business because only the brothers’ names are given instead of a printing press name.

I successfully copied the microfilm of the frontispiece from the original, 1797, printing. This featured a patriotic framing of an etching of Deborah Sampson. The portrait is surrounded by American flags, an eagle holding a shield with the stars and stripes, a sword, a drum, what appears to be a rifle and a gunpowder bowl, and various plant branches and a crown of leaves. Underneath this it says, “Published by H. Mann 1797.”

According to the Evans Digital Database the portrait of Deborah Sampson was an intaglio print, that was 17 centimeters and the text was bound in leather.

In my 1972 reprint the portrait is 16 centimeters, from corner to corner; so, I believe the original text would have been of comparable size to this newer printing, which is 26 centimeters from corner to corner, 22 centimeters tall and 15 centimeters wide. I would think that a leather-bound book with a portrait made for it would have been expensive to purchase.

I noticed the title page was missing from the microfilm copy of the text and I found this on Evans Digital Database.

The title was written in scrolling text, I believe to draw the reader into the story. I could not believe how long the whole title page was:

“The female review: or, Memoirs of an American young lady; whose life and character are peculiarly distinguished--being a Continental soldier, for nearly three years, in the late American war. During which time, she performed the duties of every department, into which she was called, with punctual exactness, fidelity and honor, and preserved her chastity inviolate, by the most artful concealment of her sex. With an appendix, containing charcteristic traits, by different hands; her taste for economy, principles of domestic education, &c. By a citizen of Massachusetts. Dedham: Printed by Nathaniel and Benjamin Heaton for the author. M,DCC,XCVII.”

Well, I am certainly worn out from all of my detective work. Until my next discovery, stay curious about this early-American literary woman.