Frederick Douglass signature

Abolitionist, writer and orator who escaped slavery (c. 1818–1895)

Inspired by Frederick Douglass’s signature

A rendering in a modern handwriting font, made for this page. It is not the real signature; see where to view the original below. Where to see the original ↓Style: Allura, slant 6°

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Who Frederick Douglass was

Frederick Douglass (c. 1818–1895) was born into slavery in Talbot County, Maryland, escaped to the North in 1838 and became the most influential Black abolitionist of his century: a speaker, newspaper editor and author of three autobiographies. He later held federal posts, including U.S. Marshal for the District of Columbia and Minister Resident to Haiti.

The story of the signature

In his 1845 Narrative, Douglass describes how he learned to write although it was forbidden. In a Baltimore shipyard he watched carpenters mark timbers with letters such as L and S, for larboard and starboard, and copied them. He challenged white boys to writing contests to learn more letters, and practiced in the old copy-books of his young master, Thomas.

The name he signed was also his own choice. Born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, he used other surnames after his escape, and in New Bedford, Massachusetts, took “Douglass” at the suggestion of his host Nathan Johnson, who had been reading Walter Scott’s poem The Lady of the Lake.

Editions of his Narrative carried an engraved portrait with his signature reproduced beneath it, so readers met his handwriting before his words.

What makes it distinctive

The full name

He signed “Frederick Douglass” in full, with the double s of the surname he chose.

A self-taught hand

He learned his letters by copying, outside any school, which makes the fluency of his mature signature all the more remarkable.

Signed in print

A facsimile of his signature appeared in his own books, beneath his portrait.

How to give your signature a similar feel

For a full-name signature with a measured nineteenth-century feel, try Allura on the Type tab of the signature generator: smooth and even, with Slant around 6°.
Douglass learned by copying. You can do the same: pick a style you like in the signature fonts gallery, then write your name freehand on the Draw tab until it becomes your own.
Write both names in full if you want the clearest possible signature on letters and documents.
When you have a version on paper you are happy with, photograph it and use the Upload tab to turn it into a transparent PNG.

Where to see the original

These links lead to archives, libraries, museums and Wikimedia Commons.

Questions about Frederick Douglass’s signature

How did Frederick Douglass learn to write?

Largely on his own, as he tells in his Narrative: by copying letters marked on timber in a Baltimore shipyard, by writing contests with white boys in the street, and by copying in his young master’s old copy-books.

Was Douglass his real name?

It was the name he chose. He was born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey and took “Douglass” in New Bedford after his escape in 1838, at Nathan Johnson’s suggestion.

Why is the year of his birth uncertain?

Like most enslaved people he had no record of his birth. He chose February 14 to celebrate his birthday, and historians generally date his birth to 1818.