SLAVERY. Broadside, “Gang of 25 Sea Island Cotton and Rice Negroes”, 1 p., September 25, 1852, Charleston, 7” x 9.25”. Wrinkles, abrasion to portions of some text, tape repair to verso, else Very Good.

The "Gang of 25" is listed numerically by name in two columns, printing each gang member's age (ranging from infancy to age 60) and "Capacity" (carpenter, prime field hand, field hand not prime, cook). Twelve were adults. Thirteen were children aged thirteen and under; of those, nine were six years old or less. James, age thirteen, has a "slight defect in knee from a broken leg".

The date on the broadside, September 25, 1852, was a Saturday, not a Thursday. This is probably a printer's error. Most sources state that Thomas Ryan built Ryan's Mart around 1853. If the year is wrong on the broadside, it was likely meant to read 1856, the one year during the 1850s that September 25th was a Thursday. If Ryan's Mart had been open by September 1852, then perhaps the intended date was Thursday, September 23, a Thursday.

Louis Daniel De Saussure [1824-1888] was a major Charleston-area slave auctioneer, who plied his trade at Charleston's busy Ryan's slave mart. He and other members of the De Saussure family were prominent for generations in South Carolina's business, civic, political, and cultural life. They were also active slave dealers. De Saussure began his career at the Tobias & Co. mercantile firm, then launched his own business as a broker, real estate agent, director of the South Carolina Railroad, and board member of public companies. De Saussure family members were landowners, slave owners, estate settlers, debt collectors in the Charleston and Camden areas, and ubiquitous participants in the life of their community.

Ryan's Mart of Charleston was established “around 1853” by Thomas Ryan, a Charleston alderman and former sheriff. After Charleston banned public slave auctions in 1856, and required enclosed slave markets, Ryan's Mart became one of the most famous slave markets in the South. It was purchased by Z.B. Oakes in 1859 and rebuilt under the name The Old Slave Mart. Today it is operated as The Old Slave Mart Museum and is considered the last surviving slave auction gallery in South Carolina. Hummel 2338 [4- GA, LSU, SC Hist. Soc., U SC]. OCLC 80937976 [2- Williams, Huntington]. Duke and NY Historical Society also have copies.

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.

WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE!