The account of the Hearings before the United States Commission on CIVIL RIGHTS Vol. 1 - Voting, held in February 16-20,1965 in Jackson Mississippi

“Employment of Laborers of African Extraction in the Island of St. Croix”, 37th Congress. June 6, 1862

Hon. John P. Hale (NH) "The Wrongs of Kansas", given Feb. 26, 1856

Speech before Congress, "No Slavery in Nebraska: No Slavery in the Nation: Slavery an Outlaw" by Gerrit Smith, April 6, 1854

U.S. Congressional Census (1854 edition). This volume detail the exact number of slaves, mulattoes, and free blacks in the country

1852 speech of Hon. Charles Sumner to Repeal The Fugitive Slave Bill, delivered in the Senate, August 26, 1852

31st Congress, 2nd Session. Message Of The President Of The Unites States, communicating , In compliance with a resolution of the Senate, a report of the Secretary of State, with documents relating to the African Slave Trade. December 17th, 1850.

August, 1850 -- Proceedings of the Senate on the Fugitive Slave Bill, the Abolition of the Slave Trade in the District of Columbia and the Imprisonment of Free Colored Seamen in Southern Ports

“Rights of Congress to Legislate for the Territories of the US, and its Duty to Exclude Slavery Therefrom”, by Horace Mann (MA) June 30, 1848

30th Congress 1st Session - House Of Reps. "Slavery Resolutions of the Legislature of New York", February 1848

Legislature of Connecticut in Relation to Slavery" -- 24th Congress, December, 1847

"The True Grandeur of Nations", Charles Sumner's first major speech (delivered in Boston), July 4th, 1845.

"Message from The President Of The United States transmitting Copies of dispatches from the American minister at the court of Brazil, relative to the Slave Trade." 29th Congress - February 20, 1845

26th Congress 1stSession - Message from the President Of United States. "Information in relation to the abuse of the flag of the United States in subservience to the African Slave Trade, and the taking away of slaves the property of Portuguese subjects". March …

24th Congress 1st Session - Legislature Of Kentucky - "Resolutions Respecting Abolition Societies" 1836 Government Document.

“Suppression of the Slave Trade”, 19th Congress - House Of Representatives, May 22, 1826

Speeches and Congressional Reports -- Genuine Congressional Pamphlets

Rare message Of The United States transmitting a report of Secretary of State "Relating To Negotiations For The Suppression of the Slave Trade", Jan 15, 1821

Original 1950s Father Divine booklet and photo. Father Divine (c. 1880 – September 10, 1965)

Williams' Original Dixie Jubilee Singers magazine

"Between You and Me" First Edition copy signed by Pearl Bailey (1989)

Two original watercolor paintings of "Negroes" by London-born painter, Robert Lee (ca. 1820)

Very rare uncut sheet (4-1/2" x 6") of 12 Porter slave tags, Charleston, VA -- made from lead, dated 1856

Young Christian Worker, Oct, 1918 - A small missionary magazine illustrated with many African American photos.

Anti Slavery Struggle with Orations -- 1884, 314 pages. Book contains copies of some of the great speeches.

The rare Methodist Magazine for 1798 printed by Henry Tuckniss, containing many sermons and poetry (some about Slavery)

Original print/frame of Maj Gen Charles Cotesworth Pinckney -- Pinckney Treaty with Spain legally affected Amistad situation

July 9, 1938 Liberty Magazine featuring article, "How It Feels To Be A Negro" by Walter White

Period 8x10 color photo of Rosa Parks' arrest, December 1955

Rare signed First Edition copy of Edward Matthew's autobiography of (1866)

Certified framed remnant of the leather driver's seat of the actual bus Rosa Parks sat in in December, 1955

Original 1775 document number of whites, free mulattos, free blacks & slaves in various towns of Cuba

20-page 1893 article, "Slavery and the Slave Trade in Africa by Henry M. Stanley, illustrated by famed Frederic Remington

Original 1778 document -- census of whites, free mulattos, free blacks & slaves in various towns of Porto (Puerto) Rico

Unusual Staffordshire pottery figurine of John Brown and 2 small Black children , 6" tall

Story of the Fisk Jubilee Singers and their Songs (four First Edition copies)

Paul Robeson and Lawrence Brown program (London, 1938)

110 issues of 1833 Philadelphia's National Gazette and Literary Register newspaper (Jan - June)

The Colored Embalmer Magazine, Number Five (Chicago), 1928

The Black Slaves of Prussia, An Open Letter Addressed to General Smuts by Frank Weston, Bishop of Zanzibar

Some Account Of The Life Of Captain Paul Cuffee. Published by the Tract Association Of Friends, 1887

National Association Of Negro Musicians Program (NANM) at the Metropolitan Baptist Church, Washington, D.C., July 11, 1937

Vintage 1956 Lionel Hampton Program (UK) signed by Herbert Hogan (drums), Retney Bauer (tenors) & Scoville Browne( clarinet)

Vintage August 1776 The Lady's Magazine (published in England), with intriguing article "The Origin of Blacks"

"The Negro In Our History" by Carter G. Woodson. Published by Associated Publishers, Washington, D.C.

Cotton Club Menu and Program featuring Cab Calloway and the Nicholas Brothers, 1930s

Handwritten letter by Joe Clark (Lean On Me)

1860 original engraving, "View of San Domingo, Hayti" (from the Harbor). Hand colored in line-wash mount

Vintage sheet music (1946) for the song "HEY! BA-BA-RE-BOP" by Lionel Hampton

Hand written letter signed by abolitionist/actress Fanny Kemble, with steel engraving of her likeness

Signed Lofton Mitchell Theatre program (2 copies), "Blood In the Night"

Actual poster of a Harlem Globetrotters game in San Francisco, 1957

1933 "Sophisticated Lady", Duke Ellington sheet music

$1000 check made out to CASH signed by Roots author, Alex Haley, Norris, TN (1988)

London Illustrated News engraving of Africa's East Coast Slave Port, Mombassa, Kenya, 1875

Extremely rare (signed) poem by Countee Cullen, 20 years of age (Dec. 12, 1923) -- "When I Am Dead"

Two postcards (1913) written and signed by William R. Morris, Fisk U. Professor and 1st Black lawyer in MN

Civil War era letter from Troy Seminary (NY) referencing Rev. Beecher's talk at the school about John Brown

Early full leather copy of The Life and Posthumous Writings of William Cowper by William Hayley, 1805

1934, 1st Edition -- "Six Plays For A Negro Theatre", Walter Baker Company (pub.), by Randolph Edmonds

Signed Programs (3) and ticket from Louis Armstrong's famous British Tour, July 5, 1958

Genuine First Edition of "David Livingstone's Travels and Researches in South Africa", 1858

About 75 postal First Day Covers (FDC) from around the world depicting African history

Lenox, MA document mentioning a free Black man, Jerry Kotter (possibly fought in Revolutionary War), 1823

1820s Affidavit (Will) regarding the disposition of slaves, Campbell County, VA

Original Government Printing Office Anti-Segregation poster, 1943. First one ever printed

1820s Affidavit (Will) regarding the disposition of slaves, Campbell County, VA

Small, late 1800s British china pot with John Brown's home pictured on it

Sketches of the Rise, Progress and Decline of Secession, by W.G. Brownlow, 1862

Several scarce 1936 German Olympic photo albums, with pictures of Jesse Owens

Hand written essay "The Constitution and Slavery", by L. Moore (1923?), Voorhees School, Denmark, SC

Hand written/signed letter by noted abolitionist, Charles Sumner, March 26, 1870, with CDV

NBA Basketball shoes signed by Julius "Dr. J" Erving, Chris Webber, Michael Jordan, and many others

Boxing gloves and hand written/signed letter by Muhammad Ali

Scarce Isabel Smith Colored Women's Club receipt book

Mills Brothers signed unpublished photo, 40s

First Edition book, Too Loo Byrd: Negro Waif, signed by author

Several First Edition book of Poetry by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, with his Slavery Poems

Many 16 MM films about slavery, Black History, Cab Calloway, Harlem Globetrotters, Jesse Owens, etc.

Innocents Abroad: The New Pilgrim's Progress by Mark Twain, First Edition, 1869

Alexandre Dumas: His Life and Works, First Edition

Receipt for work done by Pompy Skidmore, a free Negro, Albany New York Hospital--March 13,1784

Mid 1800s hand-written poem, "The Negroes Complaint" (poem by Cowper)

--  M O R E   I T E M S --

"Roots" First Edition (2 copies), signed by Alex Haley, 1976

Black History Postcards

British Foreign Office Anti-Slavery Circular, 1843.

This ticket was held by someone in the stands witnessing Jesse Owens winning his Gold Medal for the 200m race at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin on August 5th

Anthony Benezet, (1852 engraving)
 (One of the early American Abolitionists)

Williams Jubilee Singers, Sheet Music, early 1900s

St. Bartolome Hospital's slave roster (14 pages, Peru), 1811

Proud Chief from Proud Chief from Madagascar, late 1800sMadagascar, late 1800s

1619 Document from Bolivia mentioning the sale of Manuel, a slave -- with glimpses into colonial life.

Jet Magazine (September 21, 1978) with pictured article, "Eldridge Cleaver Designs Pants for Men Only" -- Article starts on page 22, and goes on to detail his fashion designs. "Unlike other pants on the market, the pants that Cleaver designs and sells are …

Eldridge Cleaver's frequent personal and political reinventions fascinated -- and sometimes appalled -- the public. Having come to prominence in the late 1960's as the author of ''Soul on Ice'' and as the mediagenic mouthpiece for the Black Panthers, Cleaver, who …

The genuine prototype of anatomically-enhanced underwear designed by former Black Panther leader, Eldridge Cleaver, for his fashion line of Eldridge de Paris clothing. This pair of underwear was donated to the Collection by Pat Matrisciana. Pat was the gentleman …

William was born into slavery in Lexington, Kentucky. His mother Elizabeth was owned by Dr. Thomas Young and had seven children, each by different fathers. (In addition to William, her children were Solomon, Leander, Benjamin, Joseph, Milford, and Elizabeth.) …

William Wells Brown (November 6, 1814 – November 6, 1884) was a prominent African-American abolitionist lecturer, novelist, playwright, and historian. Born into slavery in the Southern United States,  Brown escaped to the North in 1834, where he worked for …

First edition hardback book by William Wells Brown (1814? - 1884) is titled The American Fugitive in Europe: Sketches of Places and People Abroad.  With a Memoir of the Author.  It was published in 1855 by John P Jewett and Company of Boston in 1855.  This is an …

Five Scenes of Slavery. Steelplate engraving by Henry Winkles (1849) depicting the punishment of black slaves in the Southern States of the USA. From Bilder-Atlas zum Conversations-Lexikon (F.A.Brockhaus), 1849. Henry Winkles, had previously gone to Germany in …

Afrikanische Volker (African People). An early chromolithgraphic book plate depicting various tribes throughout the continent of Africa. Circa 1896.

In the decades following the Civil War, over a half-million blacks (and an even larger number of whites) migrated from the American South to the North and West.  A concentrated and notable period of this black exodus occurred in the late 1870s and early 1880s, an …

ENGRAVING: The Negro Exodus : The old style and the new. Published Date: 1880 (9 3/4 x 14 in.). From Harper's weekly : a journal of civilization. (New York : Harper' s Weekly Co., 1880).

1856 Porter Slave Tags (Charleston, SC). Sheet of 12 on lead. Slave tags were only issued by the city of Charleston and Charleston Neck (SC) from 1800 to 1865. BACKGROUND: Slave tags were a form of licenses issued to slave owners who leased out their slaves for …

Araminta Ross was born a slave in Bucktown, Maryland about the year 1820.  She would later take her mother's name, Harriet, and in 1844 she would marry a free black man named John Tubman.  Five years later, in 1849, fearing that she would be sold further south, …

Harriet "Moses" Tubman bronze figure (16" tall) created by DuBois (above) from the famous image of Harriet published in Sarah H. Bradford's 1869 book about her. A 3-dimensional image of Harriet Tubman in her Civil War scout uniform

Bronze image by DuBois of slave-holder whipping his slave for spilling the contents of a basket (16" tall, with heavy marble base).
SCULPTOR: Often described as a quiet, humble man, Jess E. DuBois paints every day. In a testimony to the cultural diversity that …

ENGRAVING: View of the Slave Coast, East Africa. Various views that slave ships would have seen as they approached the coast to pick up more slaves.
 -- Genuine Slave shackles for wrists or ankles from Ghana's Slave Castle. The elders of the town allowed these …

ENGRAVING: Scene on a West Indian Plantation -- Slaves Receiving the News of Their Emancipation. Emancipation Day – Friday, 1 August 1834 – was celebrated throughout the British Caribbean at chapels, churches and government-sanctioned festivals, some of which …

ed Toddy was a movie executive, entrepreneur and showman. He first worked for Universal Pictures and later for the Southern division of Columbia Pictures before forming what would later become the Atlanta-based Toddy Pictures Company, devoted to the production …

A number of movie theater lobby cards, posters and inter-office memos from the Toddy Pictures Company during the 1940s. Plus there are hand-written notes, perhaps from Henry R. Arias (Astor Export Corp), detailing plans for the implementation of an exclusive …

The author was a remarkable individual often called "The Father of the Underground Railroad". He was an abolitionist, historian, and also had a small coal business. He was born to ex-slaves in New Jersey. He is credited with helping hundreds of slaves (as many as …

First edition copy of a book by William Still. THE UNDERGROUND RAIL ROAD. Philadelphia: Porter & Coates, 1872.  (entered into Library of Congress 1871). Thick 8vo; hardbound in the original cloth-covered boards; frontis portrait of Still with tissue guard; all …

The following is additional information on Seaman's Protection Papers:
Seamen's Protection Certificates were usually printed documents, varying in size and style, that were carried by American seamen as proof of citizenship. The certificate was obtained by the …

In September 1838 Frederick Douglass escaped from slavery. In in that same year (1838), the Douglasses settled in New Bedford, Massachusetts, where Douglass found work as a caulker for whaling ships. It was at that time that he dropped the name "Bailey," in order …

These Protection Papers were essentially passports issued to American sailors to protect them from impressment into the Royal Navy of Great Britain.  This particular Protection Paper is noteworthy since it was issued and signed by Rodney French who was a …

An original 1843 Seaman's Protection Certificate from the District of New Bedford in Massachusetts, signed by Quaker Abolitionist and employer of Frederick Douglass, Rodney French.  This is Protection Certificate number 1233 dated 14th November 1843. This is a …

The life and adventures of Henry Bibb is among the most remarkable slave narratives. Born on a Kentucky plantation in 1815, Bibb first attempted to escape from bondage at the age of ten. He was recaptured and escaped several more times before he eventually …

Scarce first edition (1849) antiquarian book, "Narrative of the Life of Henry Bibb." First published in 1849 and largely unavailable for many years. An extremely important story. Reader's Copy -- This book is in poor condition, but it is a fascinating object that …

TWO COMPLETE ORIGINAL NEWSPAPERS, the NEW YORK DAILY GRAPHIC (NY City, pictured above) dated Jan 27th & 28th, 1882. The NY Daily Graphic was the first daily American newspaper with daily illustrations. These two issues contain an inside, double page woodcut …

Gary Blevins (a plethora of "Toddy Pictures" film company dedicated to "race" films in the 1940s)

Jon Christiana (1854 -- William A. Dearing,  a physician's hand-written ledger detailing his $2 charges for helping 5 different "negro" women)

Christian Van den Broeck (two foreign 78rpm records by Josephine Baker and Rex Stewart and his Footwarmers)

Stephen Dankwah (authentic slave shackles used by his ancestors to hold African slaves at the Slave Coast and Elmina slave castles in Ghana)

Jack & Kathy Spencer (scrimshaw of four African slaves and a slave ship on an 18th Century whale's tooth)

Dr. Joanna Kirkpatrick (vintage sheet music copy of The Verdict March-1882)

Mark E. Mitchell (signed Frederick Douglass document and 1748 Barbados invoice for sugar, produced by slaves, being shipped to Philadelphia)

Gerry Slessinger (set of authentic, vintage slave shackles from the Congo region and also a British Slave ad)

Martha Ann Simmons (historic cards/items of African American history)

If you have any relevant historic documents, artifacts, old books or photos to donate, please email a description of the piece and your contact information. All donations of historical artifacts, documents, photos or books are used for educational purposes and …

1. Tears down barriers between Blacks and Whites, young and old...
  2. Opens hearts and changes minds...
  3. Surrounds Black people with their ancestors, giving a sense of awe and wonderment for people of all nationalities and ethnicities...
  4. Causes people to …

Who was the African American juror in the 1882 trial for Guiteau, the one who assassinated President Garfield?

What is the oldest piece (1553) in this collection?

Who employed Frederick Douglass as a ship caulker in New Bedford, MA?

What is the name and story of the slave owned by a Native American Indian in Louisiana?

How did the term "Jim Crow" get started?

Who helped the escape of the first black man to be seized in New England under the Fugitive Slave Act?

Who had his heart buried in Africa and his body buried in Westminster Abbey almost a year later?

How did George Washington's visit to Barbados (1751-51) impact the outcome of the Revolutionary War?

Out 44 States reporting lynchings, how many States reported more whites being lynched than blacks?

What US industry employed over 3,000 African Americans (1/6 of labor force) from 1803-1860?

What slave won his freedom in a Louisville, KY horse race...36 years before the Kentucky Derby?

What sponsored the "three-fifths" concepts regarding slaves in the South?

What was the primary catalyst behind the mass exodus of Blacks from the Republican Party after 1922?

What is the true history behind the African American lawn jockey images?

How many compositions could "Blind Tom" play on the piano?

How did a famous British actress effect the outcome of the Civil War?

Who was the emperor of Ethiopia from 1855 to 1868 and what did he accomplish?

How did a famous British actress effect the outcome of the Civil War?

What is the oldest identifiable slave ship wreck in the world?

Who were the early Lindy Hoppers?

What was Frederick Douglass doing in Dundee, Scotland in 1846?

What role did the Royal African Company play in the African Slave Trade?

What was the name of one of the Life Insurance companies that insured the slaves brought over from Africa

What was Pearl Bailey paid for her role in the film, Porgy and Bess?

Who published 16 volumes of Black History comics from 1966-1977?

Who manufactured a line of beauty products for Black women before Madam C. J. Walker?

Was Alexander Dumas (Three Musketeers, Count of Monte Cristo, etc.) of African descent?

What was the name of the first recorded song (1926) in which Louis Armstrong actually sang?

View the "You Be The Judge" mystery piece. Could this be a lost painting of Harriet Tubman?

What was the first book written by an African American?

Charles E. Rosenberg wrote a book in 1968 titled, "The Trial of the Assassin Guiteau: Psychiatry and the Law in the Gilded Age" (University of Chicago Press). Rosenberg wrote the following:

Ralph Wormley, colored, a plasterer for the Pension Bureau, expressed …

An extremely rare copy of The Verdict March by Eugene L. Blake and published by F. W. Helmick in 1882 (donated by Dr. Joanna Kirkpatrick). Charles Julius Guiteau (September 8, 1841 – June 30, 1882) was an American lawyer who assassinated U.S. President James A. …

James L. Farmer, Jr. was born in 1920 in Marshall, Texas to James L. Farmer, Sr., a professor at Wiley College, a historically Black College. His father was an American author, theologian, educator, and the first African-American from Texas to earn a doctorate …

Autographed copy of Lay Bare the Heart, an Autobiography of the Civil Rights Movement by James L. Farmer, Jr. New York. Arbor House. 1985. Hard cover. Very Good in Very Good dust jacket. DJ is worn at edges. The author, a founder of CORE, sets the record straight …

Former NBA player Manute Bol died June 19, 2010 at the age of 47. Many know him only because of his basketball career and because of his astounding height -he was 7′ 7″. But there was a lot more to the Sudanese star. Here is a tribute that was written before his …

One hundred genuine copies of Manute Bol's Memorial Service at the Washington National Cathedral on June 29, 2010.

A pair of basketball shoes worn by Manute in an actual NBA game in 1987, signed by #10, Manute Bol.

Two Manute Bol growth charts. One is signed by Manute Bol, the 7'7" Center for the Washington Bullets, Golden State Warriors and Philadelphia 76ers. Read the tribute Joel Freeman (veteran chaplain for the Washington Bullets/Wizards, '79-'98) wrote about Manute.

ABOUT BOOK: A classic of American political fiction first published in 1880, a mere three years after Reconstruction officially ended, Bricks Without Straw offers an inside view of the struggle to create a just society in the post-slavery South. It is unique …

Rare edition of "Bricks Without Straw," a Novel by Albion W. Tourgee, LLD (Late Judge of the Superior Court of North Carolina, Author of A Fool's Errand). Publisher:   Fords, Howard & Hulbert. Assuming to be a First Edition but not stated. Copyright Date: 1880 …

Speech of Hon. Howell Cobb, 1856. 16pp, 8vo, on the Resolutions reported by the Select Committee to investigate the alleged assault upon Senator Sumner by Mr. Brooks in the House of Representatives, July 10, 1856. This speech regards the physical assault on …

Subduing Freedom in Kansas", Report of the Congressional Committee, July 1, 1856

The Border Ruffian Code in Kansas", May 1856

Hon. Charles Sumner (MA) "The Apologies for the Crime Against Kansas: The True Remedy", given May 19 and 20, 1856

Hon. Charles Sumner (MA) "The Crime Against Kansas", given May 19, 1856 -- Passionate Anti-Slavery speech
(The speech that led to the near-fatal beating of Sumner at the hands of Congressman Preston Brooks -- 3 year recuperation, with some time spent in Europe.)

Theodore Parker: (August 24, 1810 – May 10, 1860) was an American Transcendentalist, abolitionist, and reforming minister of the Unitarian church. Parker's own words and quotes he popularized would later influence Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. In …

1866 Dutch book about Theodore Parker, a famous American abolitionist heavily involved in the Anti-Slavery movement in the United States. A biography in French was published in 1863 by the French Protestant theologian, Albert Reville, that obviously tied in with …

Edward C. Cooper founded the Indianapolis Freeman, the first black illustrated newspaper, in 1888. It was the VERY FIRST National Black illustrated newspaper and its motto (in the masthead) reads: "A National Colored Weekly Newspaper." Subsidized by the …

An April 29, 1905 edition of The Freeman newspaper. with article about "The Jim Crow Negro." In the article, the author is describing the recently published 12-page booklet by J.W. Cromwell by the same title. In it the writer states, "The author...does not claim …

JIM CROW LAWS: The phrase "Jim Crow Law" first appeared in 1904 according to the Dictionary of American English, although there is some evidence of earlier usage. The origin of the phrase "Jim Crow" has often been attributed to "Jump Jim Crow," a song-and-dance …

Dr. Davis goes on to say: Some historians believe that a Mr. Crow owned the slave who inspired Rice's act--thus the reason for the Jim Crow term in the lyrics. In any case, Rice incorporated the skit into his minstrel act, and by the 1850s the "Jim Crow" …

The first time Rice performed this song was in an old theatre on Fifth Street in Pittsburgh. The effect was electric. The thunderous applause that followed was never heard before within the shell of that old theatre. With each succeeding couplet and refrain the …

HISTORY ABOUT JIM CROW -- Dr. Ronald L.F. Davis states: The term Jim Crow is believed to have originated around 1830-32 when a white, minstrel show performer, Thomas "Daddy" Rice, blackened his face with charcoal paste or burnt cork and danced a ridiculous jig …

This book is an entire history, up until the year it was printed, of the Minstrel Stage and the most notable Blackface Performers. Blackface was an important performance tradition in the American theater for roughly 100 years beginning around 1830.  In both the …

Monarchs of Minstrelsy -- Extremely rare book that provides some clues about the beginnings of the term, "Jim Crow." Original 1911 FIRST EDITION of “Monarchs of Minstrelsy” by Edw. Le Roy Rice. The book was published by Kenny Publishing Company.  The book …

Dr. Jacques Faitlovitch (1881-1955), was an Orientalist, devoted to Beta Israel (Falasha) research and relief work. He made 11 missions to Ethiopia. In 1904 he went to Ethiopia for the first time and spent 18 months among the Beta Israel, studying their beliefs …

This historically significant lecture given by the Chief Rabbi of Florence, influential religious figure at the time and foremost supporter of Falasha Jews, marks the beginning of Pro-Falasha committees established by Margulies, under the advocacy of Faitlovitch …

La Solidarieta Israelitica e i Falascia. First Edition published in 1907. [translation of title] Israelite Solidarity and the Falasha. Controversial lecture by an Orthodox Rabbi and scholar on behalf of the Ethiopian "Falasha" Jews delivered in the Great Jewish …

Dr. Samuel Hirsch Margulies (1858-1922), was an Orthodox Rabbi and a scholar. He was born in Berezhany, western Ukraine (then mainly Polish speaking town with mixed Polish, Ukrainian and Jewish population in the kingdom of Galicia of Austro-Hungarian Empire), and …

This historically significant lecture given by the Chief Rabbi of Florence, influential religious figure at the time and foremost supporter of Falasha Jews, marks the beginning of Pro-Falasha committees established by Margulies, under the advocacy of Faitlovitch …

La Solidarieta Israelitica e i Falascia. First Edition published in 1907. [translation of title] Israelite Solidarity and the Falasha. Controversial lecture by an Orthodox Rabbi and scholar on behalf of the Ethiopian "Falasha" Jews delivered in the Great Jewish …

Wright was arrested and charged for aiding in the escape of the first black man to be seized in New England under the Fugitive Slave Act. He was not convicted. He edited the Massachusetts Abolitionist and the Chronotype before eventually becoming estranged from …

Wright was part of a devout Christian family who held anti-slavery beliefs and instilled in him a strict moral character. In 1826, Wright graduated from Yale and began to teach, first in Groton, Massachusetts, then at Hudson, Ohio as a mathematics and philosophy …

A 4 page hand-written letter by Elizur Wright dated September 23, 1881. It is to the editor of the Newton Republican about errors in his new manuscript book (Myron Holley) and discusses La Fontaine, the famous book he had translated from French to English. He …

The Creole case was the result of a slave rebellion in 1841 on board the Creole, a ship involved in the United States coastwise slave trade. The trade flourished for a half century or longer. In 1841, a brig named Creole (also known as USS Creole) was …

Scarce first edition copy of Correspondence Between Mr. Webster And Lord Ashburton: 1. On Mcleod's Case. 2.The Creole Case 3.The Subject Of Impressment. printed in Washington, DC 1842. 32 pages. Stitched. Interior remains tight, clean and compete.

During the early part of the nineteenth century, the United States conducted a brutal campaign to re-enslave Blacks who escaped slavery and found freedom in Native American settlements in Florida. Giddings told the truth as he documents the struggle waged by …

Hard-to-find First Edition book by Joshua R. Giddings -- The Exiles of Florida: Or, The Crimes Committed By Our Government Against the Maroons, Who Fled From South Carolina and Other Slave States, Seeking protection Under Spanish Laws.  Columbus, Ohio:  Follett, …

Joshua R. Giddings of Ohio was elected as a Whig to the 25th Congress to fill a vacancy and was sworn in on December 3, 1838.  In November 1841, the 135 enslaved African Americans on board the ship Creole overpowered the crew, murdering one man, while sailing …

My Dear Wife: I have just recd a dispatch from the State department on other business but no answer to my application for Leave of absence is yet received and I shall say nothing more on the subject short of one or two weeks and you must not expect me home before …

1862 Autograph Letter Signed "Joshua R. Giddings" (5 1/4" x 8") two conjoined pages, separate sheets with postscript signed "J R G" -- folds, soiling, slight separation at two folds, on rare pictorial stationery of the UNITED STATES CONSULATE GENERAL, British …

Charles Martial Allemand Lavigerie (31 October 1825–26 November 1892) was a French cardinal archbishop of Carthage and Algiers and primate of Africa. He was born at Bayonne, and was educated at St Sulpice, Paris. He was ordained priest in 1849, and was professor …

Very scarce First Edition 1888 copy of, "Der Sclavenhandel in Afrika und seine Greuel, beleuchtet nach den Vorträgen des Cardinals Lavignerie und Berichten von Missionaren und Forschern." by Walter Helmes. (German translation of title: The Slave Trade in Africa …

Rare First Edition (1893) of book, Twenty-Two Years' Work of the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute -- Owned by W. L. Weaver. 520 pages. With historical and personal sketches and testimony on important race questions from within and without, to which are …

Signatures of three Native-American Indian students of Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute dated September 18, 1888: Joe LaRoche (from Lower Brule), Matthew Young Eagle (from Standing Rock) and Joseph Beaupre (from Yancton).

A 1925 ladies class ring from the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute. This college was founded in 1868 after the civil war and was for the American Indians and African Americans. The school is located in Hampton, Virginia and has a rich history. The ring …

Interesting, scarce book: "Two Hundred Years of the S.P.G.: An Historical Account of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, 1701-1900 (Based on a Digest of the Society's Records)." By C. F. Pascoe. Published in London by the Society for …

The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG) was founded by royal charter in 1701, the oldest and indeed the only mission agency formally established by the Church of England, approved by Convocation, approved and supported by Parliament, its charter …

An extremely scarce first edition (1730) copy of "An Historical Account of the Incorporated  Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. Containing their Foundation, Proceedings, and the Success of their Missionaries in the British Colonies, to …

An antique framed engraving. It is of a membership certification to the Troy Conference Missionary Society, an auxiliary to the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church.  It is dated June 21st 1852. Signed by Edmund S. Jones (local pastor of State …

Thomas Clarkson was among the foremost British campaigners against both slavery and the slave trade. He was born in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, on 28 March 1760 and educated at the grammar school there where his father, the Rev. John Clarkson, was headmaster.  In …

In 1841 Clarkson’s published work was ‘A Letter to the Clergy of Various Denominations and to the Slaveholding Planters in the Southern Parts of the United States of America’. The letter mentioned above is probably about the manuscript pages for Clarkson's book.

Autographed Letter (dated November 23, 1840), written and signed by ‘Thomas Clarkson’ -- to ‘My dear friend’, informing him that “I have received the Manuscript safe”, asking him to correct the work and send it to the Press, concluding that “I consider that I …

Victor Animatograph Co. Hand Colored Glass Magic Lantern Slide (above), circa 1915. This is a portrait of David Livingstone (1813-1873). Victor Animatograph slide mount measures about 4" x 3 1/4", image size is about 2 1/2" x 2."

The tribal leaders gathered from all areas of the continent of Africa to honor this great general of God. They removed his heart and buried it reverently at the foot of a mulva tree. A wood monument was erected. They embalmed his body by filling it with salt, …

It was early in the morning of May 1st, 1873. Exhausted, David Livingston was confronted by one of his servants by his bedside. “You must rest Mr. Livingston, you must sleep!” “No!” David Livingston replied, “I must pray for Africa! Please prop me up by my bed to …

David Livingstone and slavery "And if my disclosures regarding the terrible Ujijian slavery should lead to the suppression of the East Coast slave trade, I shall regard that as a greater matter by far than the discovery of all the Nile sources together." -- …

William Logan (1813-1879 -- recipient of Livingston's letter) Born near Hamilton, the son of a weaver, Logan was greatly affected by seeing a Glasgow missionary die of typhoid. Secular employment having no charms for him, he went to work with sufferers of the …

Janet Hamilton (mentioned in letter above and was also known by Mr. Logan) was a nineteenth century Scottish poet. She was born as Janet Thomson at Carshill, Shotts parish, Lanarkshire, 12 Oct. 1795, the daughter of a shoemaker. In her childhood the family moved …

The story recounted in the letter above is corroborated by a paragraph in "The Personal Life of David Livingstone, by William G. Blaikie (1880) -- "Mother told me stories of her youth: they seem to come back to her in her eighty-second year very vividly. Her …

David's mother had a great store of family traditions, and, like the mother of Sir Walter Scott, she retained the power of telling them with the utmost accuracy to a very old age. In one of Livingstone's private journals, written in 1864, during his second visit …

First Edition copy of "The Personal Life of David Livingstone, by William G. Blaikie (1880). The book is chiefly from his unpublished journals and correspondence in the possession of his family. The contents of the above-mentioned letter are in this book.

Ulva, Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Ulbha) is an island in the Scottish Inner Hebrides, off the west coast of Mull. This is the location of Janet Hamilton, the New Moorland parish and the Hamilton jail mentioned in the letter below.

Here is the letter July 6th, 1865 …

Handwritten front of envelope signed by David Livingtone.

This letter is from the Russell Aitken collection with provenance material (letter and invoice from 1949). Aitken was an artist (sculptor), expert marksman, big-game hunter and adventure writer whose substantial philanthropy reflected his passions for art and …

David Livingstone (1813-1873) letter -- Extremely rare hand written letter (dated 6, July 1865) from David Livingstone and signed by him that gives a human glimpse into the life of a man of supreme commitment to God and to the people of the continent of Africa. …

Vocalist and actress Ethel Waters (1896-1977) was a key figure in the development of African American culture between the two world wars. She broke barrier after barrier, becoming:
(1). the first black woman heard on the radio.
(2). the first black singer to …

One-of-a-kind test pressing (10" 78rpm) of the song, "Come Up and See Me Sometime," Brunswick #6885, Matrix: B-14956-C. Ethel Waters and the Brunswick Studio Band, in New York City, dated March 16, 1934. Brunswick. Frank Guarante or Charlie Margulis, Bunny …

Personalized note dated Jan 20, 1950 and signed by Ethel Waters. She was an American blues and jazz vocalist and actress. She frequently performed jazz, big band, and pop music, on the Broadway stage and in concerts, although she began her career in the 1920s …

Ethel Waters Signed in Ink 5 " X 7".  Circa 1938.  This came out of a lot of Photos all about 1938.

Cabin in the Sky film

Vintage sheet music from the Metro- Goldwyn-Mayer picture movie Cabin In The Sky with Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington and his orchestra! Movie stars Lena Horne and Ethel Water were in the movie.

"Cabin in the Sky" Studio acetate edition 12" 78 rpm disc (February 24, 1943), with a lot of hand written information on the disc. 8A (USA). End theme song from film (same title). One sided acetate, exceptionally heavy. Time: 4' 38." It bears the hand written …

Nine mint condition copies of the the rare 45 (rpm) of Ethel Waters singing His Eye is on the Sparrow with the "1500 Voice Billy Graham New York Crusade Choir" in Madison Square Gardens, directed by Cliff Barrows. In 1957 Ethel accepted the invitation to sing at …

1951 Ethel Waters "His Eye Is On The Sparrow" book ad. The ad screams, "Smash Best Seller!" A book-of-the-month-club selection. An increasingly scarce original print advertisement.

Very rare, fine Moroccan leather bound First Edition copy of "His Eye is On the Sparrow." Thick leather with gold imprints on cover..

Seven first edition copies of Ethel's book, co-written by Charles Samuels.

Extremely rare contract/agreement signed on January 25, 1950 by Ethel Waters and Charles Samuels for two books, "His Eye is on the Sparrow" and "The Sparrow Sings the Blues."

One of the finest African American heroes: ETHEL WATERS. A spellbinding singer of songs, an actress of magnanimous power, Waters was a force of nature who enthralled audiences and even the stoniest of critics in nightclubs, vaudeville, recordings, Broadway, …

Lawrence Washington, George’s older half-brother and guardian, fell victim to tuberculosis and doctors in Virginia recommended a change of climate. The family’s thoughts must have immediately gone to Barbados where there was a long-standing medical tradition of …

First Edition (1892) copy of Washington's Barbadoes Journal (1751-52). The daily journal of Major George Washington, kept while on a tour from Virginia to the island of Barbados, with his invalid brother, Major Lawrence Washington -- by Joseph Meredith Toner …

Lynching, regardless who is lynched, is an horrific crime against humanity. It's not only the cowardly murder of a human being, but it also is the gutting of the conscience of the perpetrators. Everyone loses, including the society at large. From statistics …

Chambers' Edinburgh Journal -- May 27, 1843 -- Article (1/2 page) titled "Slavery in America" -- A very detailed account of the horrors that white abolitionists faced, as well accounts of the torturous deaths of negroes. A very shocking article that details some …

Very rare bronze plaque by famous Belgian artist, Paul Wissaert (1885-1972) - Return of Prince Albert from Africa. Front: Depicts a young African boy waving at a ship, inscribed: "La jeunesse Bruxelloise au Prince Albert à son retour d'Afrique - About 1909." Rever…

Benjamin Drew (1812-1903) was an American abolitionist from Boston who, in the mid-1850s, traveled throughout Upper Canada interviewing scores of refugees from the American slave states. He transcribed their narratives and published them in 1856 in a book …

Rare book by Benjamin Drew, -- Hints and Helps For Those Who Write, Print, Teach, Read or Learn. Published in 1891 by Lee & Shepard Publishers, Boston. 214 pages. Brown hard-covered book in fair condition. Shows the broad interests of Drew.

Two First Edition hard-to-find copies (1856) of Benjamin Drew's book, The Refugee: or the Narratives of Fugitive Slaves in Canada. Published by John P. Jewett and Company, Boston.

December 13, 1895 handwritten 2-page letter from Benjamin Drew (Plymouth, MA) to his nephew, who is opening a museum (Bangs) in Demorest, GA. In the letter Drew is responding to his nephew's request for artifacts and images from his travels around the world -- …

The Whaling Museum of New Bedford, MA presents the following information: African Americans have been a presence in New Bedford since its early days. Runaway and freed slaves were attracted by the Quaker majority's early (1716) opposition to slavery and the …

An 18th century whale's tooth with excellent scrimshaw work depicting two female, two male African slave and a slave ship...with the name, Jacob Ives. This artifact was sent to one of the premier experts (Dr. Stuart Frank) at the Whaling Museum in New Bedford, …

A letter (Dec. 16th, 1792) handwritten by Levi Hart to his son, William Hart (in Norwich), with a quotation from Proverbs 3:6 (In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths) at the bottom of the letter.
-- The extremely rare 40-page Levi Hart's …

An extremely rare First Edition anti-slavery play by the Belgian, Louis Delmer.  L'Esclave (The Slave, an abolitionist dramatic play, in four acts). Printed Brussels & Paris 1890. What makes this particular book scarce is that it was signed by Delmer in 1890 to …

An intriguing engraving shows the famous horse named Wagner and Cato, the slave boy, who won his freedom riding it in 1839, some 36 years before the first Kentucky Derby race in 1875. It is a fascinating story. This particular framed engraving (definitely 19th …

Initially the North had proposed counting all the slaves; the South insisted that slaves were not as productive as free workers, and suggested counting half the slaves. After proposed compromises of 2/3 and 3/4 failed to gain sufficient support, Congress finally …

Three-fifths (slaves): An 8-page newspaper, The Balance and Columbian Repository, Hudson NY -- Tuesday July 2, 1805. Published by Harry Croswell, Warren-Street, Hudson. There is an interesting 2-page anti-slavery article in relation to the US Constitution and …

"The Revolution in America" -- a lecture by John Elliot Cairnes, A.M., Professor. Contents address the immorality of slavery and movements to abolish slavery in the Northern states and District of Columbia....Author of "The Slave Power" Delivered before the …

October 23, 1850 Philadelphia letter to William D. Lewis, Esq. (Collector of the Customs House) by John Birnes (?), a man seeking employment as an oath giver to fugitive slaves. He explains that he knows the laws of fugitive slaves and can perform the customs …

Scarce, First Edition copy of The Sons of Allen: Together with a Sketch of the Rise and Progress of Wilberforce University, By Rev. Horace Talbert. The Aldine Press, Xenia, Ohio, 1906. A first edition in good condition; with index, frontis sketch of Bishop …

Court order form William Carlisle to Constable of Sussex county Delaware to recover a debt owed Eli Coverdale by Clement Cannon. The documents are given under hand and seal, at Johnstown the 16th of Sept 1814. Johnstown or Johnson's corner, later became Reliance …

Sir Rex Niven's book, "Nine Great Africans", published in 1964 by G. Bell and Sons, LTD of London. The nine great Africans are: 1. Arabi the Egyptian 2. Mutesa the Chief 3. Menelik the Emperor 4. Seyyid Said the Sultan 5. Chaka the Soldier 6. Muhammed the Askia …

Neighbor Jackwood by J.T. Trowbridge. Originally published in 1857. Hurst reprint no date, circa later 1800s. An antislavery novel by the Boston author of juvenile literature about the beautiful Camille Delisard, the daughter of a Frenchman and his slave, who is …

Court order form William Carlisle to Constable of Sussex county Delaware to recover a debt owed Eli Coverdale by Clement Cannon. The documents are given under hand and seal, at Johnstown the 16th of Sept 1814. Johnstown or Johnson's corner, later became Reliance …

October 23, 1850 Philadelphia letter to William D. Lewis, Esq. (Collector of the Customs House) by John Birnes (?), a man seeking employment as an oath giver to fugitive slaves. He explains that he knows the laws of fugitive slaves and can perform the customs …

Neighbor Jackwood by J.T. Trowbridge. Originally published in 1857. Hurst reprint no date, circa later 1800s. An antislavery novel by the Boston author of juvenile literature about the beautiful Camille Delisard, the daughter of a Frenchman and his slave, who is …

CDV of Thomas Carlyle, along with a set of 37 books by Thomas Carlyle, published in the 1800's. This is the People's Edition, cloth with gilt spines. It includes a copy of Thomas Carlyle's infamous essay, "Occasional Discourse on the Nigger Question." This essay …

Arnoldus Montanus was a Jesuit priest, based in Amsterdam, who published a series of travel/voyage books based mainly on the reports from his fellow Jesuits in their travels around the world. Most were based on continents (Asia, Africa, America) but others were …

1688 engraving of an African king on his throne surrounded by his subjects that comes from a travel book by Montanus. The engraving measures 5" by 6.5" on a full page of text, has later wash hand coloring, and is in good condition.

BACKGROUND: Larmessin was one of a family of celebrated Parisian publishers, booksellers, and engravers who were responsible for several collections of portraits of royalty and notable individuals, including Tableaux historiques, ou sont graves les illustres …

The subject of the second image is "Tombut, Roy de la Guinee": a West African monarch. The engraving is on ivory-colored, partially watermarked laid paper. It measures approximately 6 1/2 x 9 1/4 inches (160 x 230mm). A small number has been handwritten in ink at …

Two original late-17th century French engravings by Nicolas II de Larmessin (c. 1632-c. 1694). The subject is the first is that of Emperor of Mono-Motapa, an archaic name for greater Zimbabwe. Chimbganda Matombo (1634-1698) seems most likely the Emperor depicted; …

First Edition (1895) A very rare antique book, "Afro-American Encyclopedia: The Thoughts Doings And Sayings of The Race", compiled and published by James T. Haley, Haley & Florida. It's illustrated with beautiful half-tone engravings and offers a huge assortment …

2-Volumes of Anti-Slavery Papers, by James Russell Lowell. Volume I contains 28 article, published during 1844 - 1848 from "The National Anti-Slavery Standard." Volume II includes 27 articles which were published over a period of almost two years in "The National …

Negro Spirituals and the Underground Railroad -- The Underground Railroad helped slaves to run to freedom. A fugitive could use several ways. First, they had to walk at night, using hand lights and moonlight. When needed, they walked (“waded”) in water, so that …

Service of Songs -- Negro Spirituals for the Emancipation of the Slave in the Southern States of America. In 1876 "The Story of the Jubilee Singers and Their Songs was written by J.B.T. Marsh. This is an edition was printed by W. J. Gibbs (Bromley, Kent about …

Three 1877 hand-written letters. Two of the letters in the collection were handwritten by H. McDowell who was visiting Leipsic, Germany. The recipient was C.N. Cobb who I believe was visiting London. The third item is a letter from a steamship company from …

BIO -- James Monroe Trotter: Born in Grand Gulf, Mississippi on November 8, 1842. His mother, Letitia, was a slave, and his father was Richard S. Trotter, his mother's owner. Letitia, Trotter, and his brother eventually escaped slavery, making their way to …

Two deeds to land in Washington, D.C. signed: "Jas. M. Trotter, Recorder" on 3½" by 8½" filing portion of deed 8½ inches by 14 inches. Washington, D.C. December 14, 1887. One of the deeds is to land on Maryland Avenue and 13th Street, S.W., purchased by Erastus …

Extremely rare 1878 First Edition copy of Music And The Highly Musical People ,Remarkable Colored Musicians, by James W, Trotter, [Black author] with illus of him, Boston Lee & Shepherd. 353 pp and 2nd part 152 pp.  12 illus of black singers & Musicians, with …

Dorothy Maynor: 8 x 10 black and white photo is signed in blue ink. Inscribed: Best Wishes to the "326th Opera Club."

Life Magazine article (Dec. 11, 1939) about Dorothy Maynor, "Negro Singer From Virginia Makes Exciting Concert Debut."

Vintage Amphion Club program of operatic arias and Negro spirituals performed by noted African American singer Dorothy Maynor at the Russ Auditorium, San Diego, California -- March 30, 1942. Sponsored by Victor Red Seal Records. 6¼" x 12½".

A nice signed program from the 40's or early 50's featuring Dorothy Maynor, sponsored by the Portland, Maine, Community Concert Association. Dorothy Maynor's signature is an original.

Rare, huge 16" record for Armed Forces Radio Services (Basic Music Library) from WW-II, Volume no.R-39/40 SIDE-1:Church Choir: 5-tracks... SIDE-2: Dorothy Maynor with Frank Black and the NBC Symphony Orchestra:3-tracks. A number of songs, including: Swing Low …

Czech Novel on American Slavery, 1871, "Otrocnik, aneb: Rozum bez srdce. Povidka ze zivota americkych osadniku pro mladez a pratele jeji" [The Slave Merchant, or Brains without Heart; A Tale of American Plantation Life for Young People and Their Friends]. Written …

1887 (two First Edition copies, 1150 pages) and one 1890 (733 pages) -- Three copies of Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising by Rev. William J. Simmons. (The 1887, 1st edition, WorldCat search locates only 50 copies of the 1st edition worldwide.) The book …

Scarce 1853 First Edition copy (2 copies) of Solomon Northrup's "Twelve Years a Slave: Narrative of Solomon Northrup", dedicated to Harriet Beecher Stowe. 336 pages, with 7 illustrations by Coffin. This is the graphic story of the abduction of a free Negro adult …

A truly scarce and unique recital program for the great African-American contralto Marian Anderson. The performance was at the Gulistan Theatre in Dacca, East Pakistan on November 26, 1957, revealing the international impact she experienced. The concert was …

A rare and interesting cabinet card (CDV) of Samuel Adjar Crowther which probably dates from around the 1860s. Samuel (Adjar) Crowther was born December 31st, 1809 in Africa. He was the first ever African to be ordained by the church Missionary Society who was …

Six different documents (deeds) signed by Blanche K. Bruce. Washington, DC:  These deeds were signed by Bruce when he served as Recorder of Deeds (1890-1893), a position appointed to him by President Benjamin Harrison replacing Frederick Douglass.

"High Water" in the Mississippi River -- Rare etching/engraving (period) with an African American family stranded upon the top of a house. River has covered the house right up to the roof on many of the houses. Steamboat in background is named, "Stonewall Jackson."

Vintage LP by Memphis Millie with her classic blues song, "When the Levee Breaks", written and first recorded by husband and wife Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie in 1929. The song was in reaction to the upheaval caused by the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. …

The aftermath of the flood was one factor in the Great Migration of African-Americans to northern cities. Previously, the move from the rural South to the Northern cities had virtually stopped. As a result of displacement lasting up to six months, millions of …

The final Report of the Colored Advisory Commission Appointed with The American National Red Cross and the President's Committee on Relief Work in the Mississippi Valley Flood disaster of 1927. Extremely scarce copy!!! The American National Red Cross, Washington …

ROBERT RUSSA MOTON: (1867 – 1940) was an educator and the second president of Tuskegee Institute, perhaps lesser known in comparison to the school’s founder and first principal, Booker T. Washington, or the Institute’s third president, Frederick Douglass …

Signed 1930 Edition copy of "What The Negro Thinks" by Robert Russa Moton, Garden City: Doubleday, Doran. Hardback Book: 267 pages, 11 chapters. The book is signed in 1933 by Robert Moton "To Mr. Grafton S. Wilcox, With warmest regards..." Grafton Stiles Wilcox …

COPY OF 1924 AD FOR SUMMER INSTITUTE: 1st Term: June 2—July 5.   2nd Term : July 7—August 9.
Recitation six days a week. Twelve weeks' work in ten weeks. Credits given toward a Diploma.
Strong Teacher Training Courses. Registration Fee: $5.00 for the entire …

Tuskegee Summer Institute For Teachers certificate (framed) signed by Robert Russa Moton (R.R. Moton), Principal and E. C. Roberts, Summer Institute Director. The diploma was signed on July 5th, 1924.  S. Eloise Walton received the diploma for Primary Methods & …

The South in the early 1960s was still in the grips of Jim Crow, Bull Conner and the sort of segregation that we today know only through history books. Even on the day he won in Jacksonville, the pervasive attitude of Southern society at the time prevented him …

Vintage set of five Stock Car Replicas 1/64 -- featuring WENDELL SCOTT, the man who broke the color barrier in stock car racing - and he did so in 1963 when he became the first (and still the only) black driver to win a race in what is now the Sprint Cup Series. …

An intriguing hand written letter dated December 27, 1927 by Ethetreda Lewis, the editor of the popular book, Trader Horn. In the letter, from Johannesburg, she references the popularity of the book about Alfred Aloysius, who was also known as "Trader Horn". …

Poulson's American Daily Advertiser (Philadelphia, March 20, 1818) "Spain Consents to Abolition of Slave Trade" -- A Treaty concluded and signed at Madrid by Sir H. Wellesley and M. Pizarro. Spaniards prohibited from going North of the line to purchase Negroes …

Cast iron sculpture (heavy) of an African American Lawn Jockey -- Jocko. Pre-1950s. The piece measures 11" tall and 3" square at the base.  Probably a vintage reproduction, the jockey is wearing a red vest with a yellow tie. His cap is red and there is a screw in …

1992 laserdisc of the 1964 B&W film "BLACK LIKE ME" is 107 minutes.  A few quotes from the packaging:  "Now I know what it feels like to be black!"; "I changed the color of my skin!"; "It's all true ... every living moment!".  Starring James Whitmore as a white …

1960 hard cover Catholic Book Club Edition copy of Griffin's book, "Black Like Me."

Eight original copies of the April 1960 edition of Sepia Magazine with John Howard Griffin on the front cover and his first installment, along with a lot of photographs. Griffin wrote a series of articles abut his experiences for this magazine.

Vintage, signed soft cover copy of John Howard Griffin's book, "Black Like Me". A fascinating account of a white man's journey through the American South as a black man. Griffin colored his skin and assumed a black identity in 1959.

BACKGROUND: Tom was born in Muscogee County (ear Columbus, GA) on May 25, 1849 with a condition that today's doctors might diagnose with the politically correct term "autistic savant"--one of only about 100 cases recorded in medical history. Tom's father Domingo …

February 10, 1866 page of Harper's Weekly, with a large image of Blind Tom, along with a write-up.

An early authentic original program given out at Blind Tom Concerts (ca. 1867) entitled, "Songs, Sketches of the Life of Blind Tom the Marvelous Musical Prodigy, The Negro Boy Pianist, Whose Recent Performances at the Great St. James and Egyptian Halls (London) …

Authentic, original manuscript of the dramatic poetry of Evelyn Patterson Burrell entitled, Weep No More.  Copy written in 1973, this work chronicles in narrative poetic verse, the plight of the Black people through history and slavery in the United States. This …

Signed photograph of Leslie Hutchinson. The photo has been hand signed “To Jeanette Kennard, Gratefully Hutch 1942”. Leslie Arthur Hutchinson was born on the Island of Grenada on the 7th March, 1900. His father played the organ in the local church and Leslie …

An 1813 document in beautiful calligraphy, written and signed by African American Revolutionary War hero, Wentworth Cheswell (1747-1817). Wentworth served his town in varied capacity every year from 1768 to 1817, including terms as town selectman, justice of the …

Tewodros had rifles smuggled through the Sudan and Massawa, both under hostile Ottoman rule, obliged Protestant missionaries to cast cannon for him, and built roads for his artillery. He also sought to develop relations with Europe, to exchange embassies with …

A carte-de-visite (CDV) of Theodore or Theodros or Tewodros II (1818-1868), King of Abyssinia and Emperor of Ethiopia (reigned 1855-1868). Born in the western province of Qwara during a period of disunity in Ethiopia, he was called Kassa and was the son of a …

The Methodist Magazine, 1798. Printed by Henry Tuckniss, 575 pages. This magnificent volume covers the entire year of 1798 with original sermons, experiences, letters, poetry and other religious pieces, together with instructive and useful extracts from different …

Extremely scarce, First Edition copy of Slaveholding Examined in Light of the Holy Bible, by William Henry Brisbane (Philadelphia, 1847, 222 pages). Minister, editor, author, and doctor, William Henry Brisbane was a South Carolina slaveholder who turned …

An absolutely rare sampler (17"x17") dated June 4th, 1830, signed by it's maker, "Lavinia Wonn." Samplers like this are extremely rare and valuable. Lavinia may have been 8-10 years old when she made this sampler. The archivist of the Oblate Sisters Of …

Three letters from the American Bar Association written in 1923. Two of these 1923 letters from the American Bar Association to Honorable Christopher T. Callahan of Holyoke, Massachusetts, were written by John E. Hannigan, Boston, MA, State Director, First …

BACKGROUND: The Alabama claims (1862-1872) were a diplomatic dispute between the United States and Great Britain that arose out of the U.S. Civil War. The peaceful resolution of these claims 7 years after the war ended set an important precedent for solving …

The Graphic newspaper, May 4, 1872. Five men are engraved on the front page, with the headline: "The Alabama Claims -- The Geneva Court of Arbitration."

A vintage engraving of "A Session of the Alabama Claims Arbitrators."

ADDITIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE BRITISH INVOLVEMENT IN THE CIVIL WAR:

-- Rare first edition copy of, Case of the United States, Alabama Claims, to be laid before the Tribunal of Arbitration, to be Convened at Geneva under the provisions of the Treaty between the …

Frances Anne Kemble (Fanny Kemble), 1809 - 1893, Scarce three volumes of memoirs, which were published separately, contain some of her writing about slavery but also range over a wide variety of observations about her life on stage, in the arts and living in …

1863 edition (everything in one volume) of Journal of a Residence on a Georgia Plantation on 1838-1839, printed by Harper & Brothers, New York. Fair condition.

Very scarce (two sets owned by the collection) Frances Anne Butler (Fanny Kemble) Journal. Philadelphia  Carey, Lea & Blanchard. First American Edition, 1863.  
Description: 2 volumes. Vol I: 252 pages Vol II: 218 pages.  An important and early travel journal. The …

An 1830 print entitled, "The Attitudes of Miss Fanny Kemble as Juliet" from "The World of Fashion and Continental Feuilletons" a monthly publication dedicated to the high life, fashionables, Fashions, polite literature, fine arts, the opera and theatres. The page …

25 scarce, vintage playbills/broadsides advertising Fanny Kemble's appearances at the Theatre Royal, Covent Gardens from 1829-1831. The specific theatre events advertised with Fanny Kemble are: Maid of Honour, Belvidera, Romeo and Juliet, Euphrasia, Venice …

A rare and wonderful litho of Fanny Kemble in an exquisite Victorian oval frame (7-1/2" x 11"), with a painted glass matte. Both frame and lithograph are in great shape. On the back of the frame is the clipped name "Miss Kemble". This is a pre-1840s litho and …

Fanny Kemble Autographed letter. It is very rare to find a letter signed with "Butler" as her last name. Signed, "Frances Anne Butler," -- 1 page, 4-1/2" x 7," Syracuse. Reads, "Sir, It will not be in my power to read at Troy at present. I hope however to be able …

Rare First Edition (1863) copy of Journal of a Residence on a Georgia Plantation in 1838-1839 by Frances Kemble. (four copies of the First Edition are owned by this collection) Born in England to a family of actors and actresses -- the famous theatrical Kemble …

Eight issues of The Southern Workman, published by the Hampton Institute Press, Hampton, VA. [African-American]. April 1907, June 1907, August 1906, May 1920, November 1907, November 1906, July 1920 and May 1903. Some topics covered: Progress of the Negro in 40 …