# Is "Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom; or, the Escape of William and Ellen Craft from Slavery" by William Craft and Ellen Craft a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom; or, the Escape of William and Ellen Craft from Slavery by William Craft and Ellen Craft (William Tweedie, 1860) is identified by: The first edition's title page reads 'Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom; or, the Escape of William and Ellen Craft from Slavery. No American first edition of this narrative was issued in the 19th century; the 1860 London Tweedie printing is the sole and true first edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The first edition's title page reads 'Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom; or, the Escape of William and Ellen Craft from Slavery
- London: William Tweedie, 337, Strand, 1860,' and it collates iv, 111 pages
- It carries an engraved portrait of Ellen Craft, after a daguerreotype by Hale and engraved by Joseph Andrews and S.A. Schoff, inscribed within the volume to William Lloyd Garrison and dated from Hammersmith, London, June 27, 1860
- William and Ellen Craft had fled to England after the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act made them unsafe even in the free states, so the narrative was written and first published there rather than in the United States
- Publisher imprint reads William Tweedie
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | William Craft and Ellen Craft |
| Publisher | William Tweedie |
| Year | 1860 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The first edition's title page reads 'Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom; or, the Escape of William and Ellen Craft from Slavery |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The first edition's title page reads 'Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom; or, the Escape of William and Ellen Craft from Slavery. London: William Tweedie, 337, Strand, 1860,' and it collates iv, 111 pages. It carries an engraved portrait of Ellen Craft, after a daguerreotype by Hale and engraved by Joseph Andrews and S.A. Schoff, inscribed within the volume to William Lloyd Garrison and dated from Hammersmith, London, June 27, 1860. William and Ellen Craft had fled to England after the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act made them unsafe even in the free states, so the narrative was written and first published there rather than in the United States.

## Is this the true first?
No American first edition of this narrative was issued in the 19th century; the 1860 London Tweedie printing is the sole and true first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom; or, the Escape of William and Ellen Craft from Slavery* by William Craft and Ellen Craft a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/running-a-thousand-miles-for-freedom-or-the-escape-of-willia
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.