Description:

Slavery
New Orleans, LA, February 12, 1859
New Orleans Slave Auction Broadside Sadly Includes Families; Among the Best Extant
Broadside
Printed Document, Broadside for Slave Sale, February 12, 1859, [New Orleans, Louisiana]. 1 p., 8" x 14". Expert conservation to upper right, small area at bottom, and some folds; only a few letters of "Reserve" affected artfully infilled. Among the best auction broadsides we have seen.

This 1859 broadside advertises the sale of 48 enslaved African Americans in 10 family units and 5 individuals by auctioneer Norbert Vignie at the City Hotel in New Orleans. The enslaved persons range in age from 1 to 57, though 31 of them are under the age of 20 and another 7 are in their 20s; only 3 are over the age of 40. The advertisement designates all over the age of 11, and one 10-year-old and one 9-year-old as "field hands."

Ironically, the sale occurred on Abraham Lincoln's fiftieth birthday. Fewer than four years later, as President, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, confirming freedom to all slaves in areas then in rebellion. It may have applied to these slaves, depending on where their purchasers lived. The Emancipation Proclamation explicitly excluded Orleans and a dozen other parishes in southeastern Louisiana from its effects because those areas were "under Union control." Slaves in those areas had to await the adoption of a new state constitution in April 1864 that abolished slavery.

On Thursday, February 10, 1859, Norbert Vignie advertised "Sixty Negroes at Auction" for Saturday, February 12, at noon at the City Hotel. He described them as "Sixty Negroes, in families, from one plantation; good Cotton Pickers." He also noted that "A Catalogue of Slaves in Families will be ready for delivery on the day of sale." This broadside was likely distributed at the sale to potential buyers. Although the broadside lists only 48 by name, a note at the bottom indicates, "Also, at the same time and place will be offered several other valuable slaves."

Historical Background
The division of enslaved persons at the death of a slaveowner often led to the division of families and at the very least broke up slave communities, where individuals had lived and worked together, often for their entire lives. Such divisions often led to sales when the new owner could not profitably employ the enslaved persons they had inherited. These sales further broke family and community ties.

In this case, the entire group of enslaved persons had been brought from South Carolina to New Orleans for sale, removing them far from their extended families. The city of New Orleans became the largest slave market in the United States, ultimately serving as the site for the sale and purchase of more than 135,000 people. Between 1819 and 1860, nearly 71,000 individuals were transported from ports on the coast of the United States for sale, likely including these slaves from [South] Carolina, though records for 1859 are incomplete.

The site of this slave auction was the City Hotel in New Orleans. The four-story hotel, designed by German architect Charles Zimpel, was built in 1832, and was originally known as Bishop's Hotel. It became the City Hotel around 1839-1840. After the Verandah Hotel burned in 1855, the City Hotel's business increased, and it was the site of many antebellum slave auctions. Ruggles S. Morse, born in Maine, owned and operated the hotel for many years before and through the Civil War. He sold it in 874, and the hotel was demolished in 1888.

Norbert Vignie (1810-1877) was born in Louisiana into a French family. He served as an aide-de-camp during the Mexican War. He was an auctioneer in New Orleans from 1845 into the 1860s but was retired by 1870. He seems to have specialized in the sale of real estate and slaves.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 8" x 14"
  • Medium: Broadside

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