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Lot 265

Sale 1118 - African Americana
Feb 28, 2023 10:00AM ET
Live / Cincinnati
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Estimate
$300 - 500
Price Realized
$284
Sold prices are inclusive of Buyer’s Premium

Lot Description

[EARLY PHOTOGRAPHY] -- [SLAVERY & ABOLITION]. The White Slave. N.p., n.d.


5 1/2 x 3 in. stereoview on cardstock mount (minor toning, spots of discoloration to mount, wear to edges and corners of mount). Housed in a wooden printing frame. Verso with applied paper label bearing printed caption, "The White Slave." 

An African American dandy wearing boldly checked and striped pants, frock coat, and a large top hat is shown having his shoes shined by a young, white boy. Featured prominently behind the child is a wall of handbills and broadsides, incl. promotions for plays at the Adelphi Theatre, possibly in New York, most notably The White Slave (Bartley T. Campbell, 1882), and The Octoroon (Dion Boucicault, 1859). Smaller broadsides are also featured with large, bold headlines that read, "No Slavery," "Freedom," "Negro Emancipation," and "Poor Slaves." Another broadside illustrates a ship from the Clyde Steamship Company, suggesting that the scene depicted here was taken in New York City, a hub of the Clyde steamship line which began in 1874. 

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