Black History
1852 Charleston, SC. "PORTER" Slave Hire Tag/Badge
1852-Dated Charleston, South Carolina. Rarer "PORTER" Slave Hire Tag/Badge. Made by William Rouse by City Contract. Very Fine.
1852-Dated, genuine and fully authentic "PORTER" Charleston, South Carolina Slave Hire Identification Tag. This Tag correctly measures 2" x 2" (corner tip to corner tip), is diamond shaped and properly holed at top for suspension as always, as made. The corner tips on this current Tag have been clipped as is usual, so as not to be sharp and cutting. This Slave Tag reads: "CHARLESTON / 12 / PORTER / 1852". The details are mostly clear and readable having actual wear from use, well centered and showing a strong, clear "1852" date, "PORTER" occupation, and the city name is at top having some roughness from surface pitting. A very collectible example with minor surface roughness as shown at the upper right edge side. This Tag has sharpness to all four edges which are complete, and with properly clipped corner tips. The reverse is fairly clean and free from damage. It has a rich bright coppery patina from an early cleaning and given clear lacquer for surface protection. Overall, this Tag is better than most, as shown. We more recently offered an 1840 dated Slave Tag in our EAHA Auction of April 25, 2020 which sold for $3,900 as well as an 1860 dated Slave Tag in our EAHA Auction of December 11, 2020 which sold for $3,600. A 1859 Servant Tag offered in our March 20, 2021 EAHA Auction, lot 249 graded VF, sold for $5,312. This current example has some rather unique attributes as mentioned, which allows it to display well as if per its original copper color when made. This was the same year Charleston received significant income for Slave Hire Tags sold and $528 for its Dog Badges/Tags.
This 1858 William Rouse Slave Tag or Badge is to our best knowledge and extensive research, unique in that its four metal corner tips are original and sharp having not been clipped, as was the practice. They remain intact as made, pointed and sharp. In this unclipped format this Tag was probably not comfortable while the Slave "No. 1221" was wearing it and its pointed tips making contact with his skin. To our best knowledge all other 1858's that have surfaced to date have the standard clipped corners. Maker William Rouse also used "unclipped" corners for two other years, in 1853 and 1854, when he had the Slave Badge contract with the City of Charleston. An important and significant "unclipped" rarity type. This Tag in overall whole complete, yet actually worn and used condition. This Tag has good surfaces and clarity with some scattered light roughness of surface detail.
Slave Hire Tags or Badges were created and sold only in Charleston, South Carolina. These Tags were renewable at the end of every year as long as the fee was paid. According to Harlan Greene, Harry S. Hutchins, Jr., and Bian E. Hutchins in their book titled: "Slave Badges and the Slave-Hire System in Charleston, South Carolina, 1783-1865".
Slave owners would purchase a badge from the City of Charleston. The wages earned by a hired-out slave belonged to their owners. However, evidence exists that wages earned in excess of what was owed to their owner could be retained by the slave, if the owner allowed it. The badges were typically sewn to clothing and gave the wearer more freedom of movement within the city than would be given to a slave working on a plantation.
Badges were dated and were issued annually and became a source of tax revenue for the city. Cost for tags in 1865 ranged from $10 to $35 with the number peaking at about 5,000 in 1860. Ironically, slave badges which may be looked at as tagging a human as if property, may actually be evidence of relative freedom of movement within Charleston and a means of income for a slave and his or her family.
The wearer of this Slave Badge number 1221 was a PORTER. The Porters were mostly men with a few women. Of all the occupations this was the one assigned the hardest, dirtiest and most dangerous jobs to include loading and unloading docked sailing ships. The jobs that required the most physical strength and were the jobs no one else wanted to do. Sometimes, the jobs that many owner's didn't even want their own Slaves to do. The "Porter" Slave badges were quite scarce and hard to locate today with merely 1000 to 1500 officially issued each year.
This bearer of this badge witnessed history in the making with the completion of Ryan's Mart Slave Market located on 6 Chalmers Street in Charleston (1858-1859), being the first "Indoor Slave Auction House" in Charleston. Wonder what he or she thought when Slave auctions began that way in Charleston. Prior to that market, all Slaves before that time were sold outdoors in Charleston at the city docks, on city corners, or in front of the other auction establishments.
Hopefully he or she lived another seven years to see real freedom come to all the Slaves. This is truly a unique artifact actually worn by a Charleston Slave during the year 1858. The freedom that this badge offered to the wearer was to be able to go throughout the city limits of Charleston and not be harassed or restricted as he or she looked to hire out his or her services.