Vintage Drawing of Poet Phillis Wheatley Button

This is a replica of a vintage portrait of 18th-century poet Phillis Wheatley. She was the first African American to publish a book of poetry. As a young girl, she was brought to America to be a slave. The Wheatley family of Boston, who had purchased her to be a household servant, broke with the tradition of the times and educated young Phillis. In the portrait, Wheatley is shown profile while sitting at a desk with a quill in her hand.