The Illustrated London Times
    

An 1850s Slave Sale in Charleston

Slave Sale, Charleston, South Carolina, From a Sketch by Eyre CroweSlave Sale, Charleston, South Carolina, From a Sketch by Eyre Crowe

The Illustrated London News, November 29, 1856

Hand-tinted off-print, click on image for a larger version

A black and white version is at The British Museum:

“A slave auction taking place in a street, the purchasers gathered before the platform including a black gentleman on horseback at left, some examining the slaves; the masts of a ship beyond at left; after Eyre Crowe, page taken from ‘the Illustrated London News'”

Historic Charleston Foundation has a color engraving:

“The engraving was based on a painting by Crowe depicting an actual scene witnessed by him 1853. It was published in the Illustrated London News on November 29, 1856, accompanied by an essay in which Crowe concluded with a call for greater public condemnation of slavery by the British.”

Special handed-tinted off-prints were often sold separately from newspapers. Numerous originals held today by public institutions and in private collections.

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