September 20, 2003, The Manuscript Sale, Sale 22

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Slavery/Black History
 
Lot 124          (1761) Colonial Slave Document. Document from South-Hampton, Suffolk County (N.Y.) Court of Common Plea, "in the month of October in the thirty fourth year of the Reign of King George the Second... Phoebe Halsey complains against John Halsey in Custody...that he render unto her one certain Negro Man...which from her he unjustly detains...." She asks damages of two hundred pounds New York money. Right margin is ragged, affecting a few words; partial fold tears and light soiling; otherwise, Very Good (Photo).
Estimate $300-500.
 
Lot 125          1777 Quaker Slave Manumission. Partly-printed slave manumission signed by John Brown of Bristol, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, "this seventh day of the Eleventh Month," 1777. One page oblong octavo. Brown promises to "set free from bondage, my Negroe Boy named James when he shall arrive at the age of twenty one years which will be on the first day of the tenth month, anno Domini, one thousand seven hundred & ninty [sic]...." Witnessed by James Moon and William Blakey and docketed on verso, "... Recorded in quarterly Meeting Book page 16th," which denotes this as a Quaker document, as does the date. The Quakers were the first religious group to declare en masse that slavery was wrong. A 1½ in. strip of paper for mounting is affixed on verso of left margin. Normal aged toning, else Fine (Photo).
Estimate $1,500-2,000.
 
Lot 126          1781 Quaker Slave Manumission. Partly-printed slave manumission signed with the mark of Elizabeth Warder of Lower Makefield, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, "this fifteenth day of the fifth month," 1781. One page oblong octavo. Warder "set[s] free from bondage, my Negroe Man named Virgil Williams; aged about forty years, and do...release...all claim whatsoever as to his person, or to any estate he may acquire...." Witnessed by James Moon and Jonathan Kirkbridg and docketed on verso, "... Recorded in quarterly Meeting Book page the 23rd." A 1½ in. strip of paper for mounting is affixed on verso of left margin. Normal aged toning, else Fine. In 1780, Pennsylvania, which was the center of Quakerism in the United States, passed An Act for the Gradual Abolishment of Slavery, and almost all Quakers who owned slaves joined in the movement to free them (Photo).
Estimate $1,500-2,000.
 
Lot 127          1781 Quaker Slave Manumission. Partly-printed slave manumission signed with the mark of Elizabeth Warder of Lower Makefield, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, "this seventh day of the ninth month," 1781. One page oblong octavo. Warder "set[s] free from bondage, my Negroe Woman named Ruth Williams; aged about Twenty years, and do...release...all claim whatsoever as to her person, or to any estate she may acquire.... Witnessed by James Moon and William Blakey and docketed on verso, "... Recorded in quarterly Meeting Book page the 28th." A 1½ in. strip of paper for mounting is affixed on verso of left margin. Normal aged toning, else Fine. Ruth Williams was either the wife or the daughter of Virgil Williams, who had been freed by Elizabeth Warder some eight months earlier (Photo).
Estimate $1,500-2,000.
 
Lot 128          1799 New York Slave Bill of Sale. Manuscript document, one page folio, dated November 29, 1799, being an "Article of Agreement" between "Wright Nichols of North Hempstead, Queens County, Nassau Island, State of New York...& William Lattery of the Township of Oysterbay County...." In return for twenty-six pounds ten shillings, Nichols "doth Bargain Sell transfer & Convey unto William Lattery the Negro Boy Gerandus for & during the term of Two years & five months...." Nichols' seal is intact. Minor fold wear, otherwise Fine. An early slave document (Photo).
Estimate $400-600.
 
Lot 129          1813 Estate Appraisal Listing. Inventory and appraisal of the estate of Peter Taylor, who died on September 15, 1812, as ordered by the Madison County, Kentucky court. Nine pages, plus docket and one blank integral leaf, all joined, 7¾ x 6½ in, listing the property of the deceased: numerous animals, household furniture and utensils, farm equipment, and slaves. Twenty-six men, women and children are listed on one page, with their values listed in a column to the right. The grown men: James, Harry, Isaac, Samuel, and Bristo were worth the most--from $400-$500; the young children were worth least. Bette was worth $313, her son $165, and her daughter $130; her infant is listed as dead. Taylor was probably a soldier in the American Revolution who received land as a bounty. Document is toned and stained but legible (Photo).
Estimate $800-1,000.
 
Lot 130          1821 Kentucky Estate Inventory, Including 19 Slaves. Manuscript "Inventory & Appraisment of the Goods & Chattels of the late Jona. Reed Decd.," Lincoln County, Kentucky, October 13, 1821, 8 pp folio, loose-stitch binding. There are 205 entries, beginning with household furnishings, farm implements, and livestock, and ending with a list of nineteen slaves, by name, sex, age, and value. The five men: James, William, Isaac, Joseph, and Mason, are valued at $2375. The women and children, including Charity, Patty, Violet, three Sarahs, Charlotte, Alice, Moses, Hannah, Mary, Kitty, an unnamed baby and an "unsound" thirteen-year-old girl, bring the total value of the slaves to $6325. The total estate value was $9666. Age toning, edge wear and some ink smudges. Very Good (Photo).
Estimate $300-500.
 
Lot 131          1863 Kentucky Slave Emancipation. Manuscript Emancipation Document, September 7, 1863, 1 page folio. Thomas Woodford, deceased, made a provision in his will to free "a certain slave named William aged 23 years of dark complexion 5 feet 8 in in height & weighs about 150 pounds....," with the provision that William "will remove beyond the limits of this state within 90 days...." William Taylor, the emancipated slave, makes his mark, agreeing to leave Kentucky within the specified time. Fine (Photo).
Estimate $250-300.
 
Lot 132          Douglass, Frederick (1817-95) Abolitionist, author, lecturer, and editor. Partly-printed Document Signed ("Fredk. Douglass") as Recorder of Deeds of the District of Columbia, Washington, DC, May 23, 1881, 4 pp folio plus docket leaf. The document is a release from "William Remsen et al Trustees To The Patomac Ferry Co." Tied together at top with a red ribbon. Light overall toning; some soiling to docket leaf and one small stain after Douglass' signature. Douglass was a former slave who became a leading abolitionist. He helped recruit black regiments and was consulted by Lincoln (Photo).
Estimate $300-400.
 
Lot 133          Flipper, Henry O (1856-1940) Born into slavery; graduated from West Point in 1877; served on the frontier with the 10th Cavalry. Document from Headquarters U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y. January 19, 1877, ranking engineering students according to merit. Flipper is listed as number 58 out of 76 students. Document is signed by an adjutant for Major General Schofield, who was superintendent of West Point. Light toning; mounting remnants at one edge of verso. Fine. After his graduation, Flipper was commissioned a second lieutenant and assigned to the 10th Cavalry. He served on the frontier from 1878 until 1880, including Fort Sill, Oklahoma and Fort Concho, Texas. His duties included scouting, serving as post engineer surveyor, construction supervisor, post adjutant, acting assistant and post quartermaster, and commissary officer. In 1881, his commanding officer accused him of "embezzling funds and of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman," and he was court martialed (It has also been reported that he was seeing a white woman, an unforgivable offense). Acquitted of the embezzlement charge, he was found guilty of conduct unbecoming an officer and on June 30, 1882, he was dismissed from the Army. As a civilian, Flipper went on to distinguish himself in a variety of governmental and private engineering positions, as well as writing and publishing several works. He died in 1940, having made numerous attempts to have his conviction reversed. Finally, on February 19, 1999, President Clinton pardoned Lieutenant Henry O. Flipper, recognizing an error and acknowledging Flipper's lifetime achievements (Photo).
Estimate $500-600.
 
Lot 134          Hughes, Lanston (1902-67) American poet and short-story writer. Typed Document Signed, New York (1961), 1 page quarto. An agreement between Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. Records Division and Langston Hughes, dated July 19, 1961, to terminate an agreement that was made between the two parties on March 27, 1958. The document "relieves the other from any and all claims...obligations and liability of any and every kind including...any obligation on our part to pay you any royalties from and after the date hereof...." Hughes was the unofficial Poet Laureate of the Harlem Renaissance. MGM made some recordings of him reading his poetry, which was influenced by the rhythms of blues and jazz (Photo).
Estimate $400-600.
 
Lot 135          Kentucky Will Freeing Slaves, With Provisions. Manuscript Last Will and Testament of James Armstrong, Bath County, Kentucky, August 26, 1830, 4 pp folio. The slaves are to be freed after being hired out until they earn certain amounts of money: "...my negroe man Jerry...until his hire amounts to the sum of Four hundred and fifty dollars...my negroe Girl Fanny...until her hire amounts to the sum of one hundred and seventy five dollars......." Fanny's three children, Joab, nine years of age, Mariah, about six, and Cire, about four, are to be hired out until the ages of 26 (for Joab) and 21 (for Mariah and Cire), then they are to be freed. "...my negroe woman by the name of Nanny to be free at my death...." Fine (Photo).
Estimate $250-300.
 
Lot 136          King, Martin Luther Jr (1929-68) Clergyman and Civil Rights leader. Book Inscribed and Signed, "To Paul With Best Wishes Martin Luther King Jr." on the title page. The book is Why We Can't Wait, New York: New American Library, 1964. Soft cover, 7 x 4¼ in. Light soiling and creasing to the cover and light toning to interior pages. King was ordained a Baptist minister in 1954. In 1956, he led a boycott of the Montgomery, Alabama transit system, forcing desegration of the city's buses. He founded (1957) and was president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which advocated nonviolence and racial brotherhood. In August 1963 he helped organize the massive March on Washington, where he gave his famous "I Have A Dream" speech. He was awarded the Nobel peace price in 1964, the same year he signed this book. He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968 (Photo).
Estimate $1,500-2,000.
 
Lot 137          Numerous Cargoes of Slaves Offered For Sale. February 18, 1807 issue of the Charleston Courier offers eight different cargoes of slaves, one year before the importation of slaves into the United States became illegal. The notices specify from which parts of Africa the captives were taken. The ships are named and their human wares offered: "240 Prime Angola Slaves," "98 very Prime Windward Coast Slaves," "Prime Congo Slave...360 choice Negroes," "300 Prime Congo Negroes," "Windward Coast Slaves," "380 very Prime Congo Negroes," "150 very prime healthy Mandingo Negroes," and "300 Prime Congo Slaves." Approximately 30 ship woodcuts and two of runaway slaves. 4 pages large folio. Overall toning and pages separated, else Fine (Photo).
Estimate $200-300.
 
Lot 138          "Trial of Richard Wilson by John Malone, Colored Magistrate." 14 x 11 in. placard, supposedly reporting the proceedings of the "First trial by a colored magistrate in Dinwiddie County, Virginia." A photo on the top half of the placard, copyrighted Jan. 21, 1903, shows the participants in the court. The whole point, of course, is to sneer at the possibility of black people conducting a dignified legal proceeding. Faint toning and staining at right edge, and a couple of edge chips, else Fine (Photo).
Estimate $200-300.
 
Lot 139          Unusual Last Will And Testament Of A Freed Slave. Three-page folio document, signed with the mark of Thomas Robertson, Madison County, Kentucky, October 14, 1846. Robertson names his administrators and instructs them to obtain a warrant deed to a piece of land which was paid for but for which he had not received a title. He then bequeaths "the dwelling house in which I live together with the lot and garden...to Mrs. Allison a widow woman living in Richmond and to her daughter Mrs. Curl also a widow woman," and continues: "...I have a brother named Robert who is now a slave in the possession of Mr. Wilson son in law of Thompson Burnam and the said Mr. Wilson has agreed and promised to let my brother have his freedom. And now if he complies with his promise in liberating my brother Robert then I will and bequeath my brother the sum of two hundred dollars but if my brother is not set free then I will and appropriate the money otherwise herein mentioned. I further will and bequeath to my little bound boy Mint Robertson the sum of fifty dollars which sum my administrators are to pay to him when he shall arrive at the age of twenty-one years. It is my will that all my property consisting of (articles not previously disposed of) eight acres of land adjoining Logans Tanyard, two buggies, one carriage, one wagon and harness, seven head of horses and one cow together with my house hold and kitchen furniture, farming utensils and one negro woman named Jenny & shall be sold on a credit of twelve months....Finally it is my last will that after all my debts have been paid...that the money due me and all money proceeding from the sale of my property...shall be paid by my administrators to Mrs. Allison and Mrs. Curl except the sum of five hundred dollars which sum I reserve for the use and benefit of a negro girl named Ann who is the daughter of Harriett Jones and is now the property of Willis Jones. And it is my will that my administrators shall buy the said girl Ann and set her free with the five hundred dollars herein reserved for that purpose. And it is my will that my administrators shall after buying the said girl Ann bind her out to some respectable Humane man who shall treat her kindly until she reach the age of eighteen years. Then she shall be set at liberty and receive all moneys arising from her hire and use it as her own...." The clerk of the county court certifies that this is the last will and testament of Thomas Robinson, "a free man of colour." Light toning and soiling. This is certainly the most unusual will that we have seen (Photo).
Estimate $2,500-3,000.
 
Lot 140          Virginia Government Official Is Slave Dealer. Manuscript letter written and signed by "le Maynes," Estillville (Va.), Sunday Evening, August 23, 1835, 2-1/3 pages quarto. The integral address leaf is free franked ("Free") above le Maynes' name, indicating that he was some kind of government official. The content of this letter, written to Joseph Meek in Nashville, Tennessee, is not official business, but is about dealing in slaves on the sly. In part: "...Mr. Sanders has 2 men that...he will sell if I will say to his wife I want them for my own use and he has said he could and would purchase 15 (mostly all grown) of Col. Thos. Tate....I left with Bradley $1500 which he promised me he would lay out in a few days for negroes of the right kind. He has a farm in the country and can buy as if for his own use without being suspected. Bradley is the sh[eri]ff of the co[unty]...I got the promise of 2 - a man and a girl...from a cousin...but it being Sunday he would not close the trade...I shall lay out all the money I have...and all we can raise...." The pale green paper is toned and has a few edge splits and fold chips; opening tears at top of address leaf affect nothing. Very Good. Boldly written by a lying, cheating government official. Imagine!! (Photo).
Estimate $800-1,200.
 
Lot 141          Washington, Booker T. Typed Letter Signed as Principal, on letterhead of "The Tuskegee Normal And Industrial Institute For the Training of Colored Young Men and Women," Tuskegee, Alabama, April 12, 1906. One page, quarto, to Walter Scott, in New York. In part: "I...appreciate most heartily your kind letter....it came during the celebration of the Twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of this institution, and aroused a very tender and precious memory in my mind....I am also taking the liberty of sending you personally a copy of our latest book from the press, 'Tuskegee and Its People.'" Light toning and minor soiling; hurriedly-written signature. Nice content (Photo).
Estimate $400-600.
 
Lot 142          Washington, Booker T (1856-1915) Author and educator, born a slave. Bottom portion of a Document Signed in pencil, as principal of Tuskegee Institute. 2¼ x 8½ inches, with uneven top margin. Part of two lines are legible, as well as the closing and title; the letter is obviously of one of the many letters Washington wrote soliciting donations for the Institute. One fold runs through the signature, which is quite strong and is suitable for framing (Photo).
Estimate $200-300.