Historic Slave Sale Broadside

One of the largest and most striking slave sale broadsides ever made publicly available at auction, this massive, original printed broadside measures almost two feet tall and is distinguished by the conspicuous emphasis on the excited declaration "Slaves!" This mammoth broadside stands as a harrowing reminder of the era, not the least of which is its connection to Memphis, Tennessee, a major hub of the slave trade at the time.

Advertising a public auction to be held on January 21, 1860, the broadside notes bluntly that "Mary, aged about thirty years, and her child Victoria, aged about two years" will be sold to the highest bidder "for cash" in front of the county clerk's office in Memphis on January 21, 1860. This unusually large example was likely hung in a prominent location in the city, perhaps on Adams Street, where many of the city’s slave merchants, Nathan Bedford Forrest included, operated. Whether Mary and her child were separated as a result of the auction is unknown, but is certainly a powerful and devastating outcome for the viewer to consider. This is a museum-quality piece that deserves a prominent home.

Measures 22 x 16 1/2. Condition as shown, some soiling, ink/pencil notes on verso. Professionally conserved and lined, serious parties are encouraged to contact us for a conservation/condition report.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate, Abolition, Abolitionist, Abraham Lincoln, Slavery, Slaves, African-American History, Black Americana, Paper Ephemera]