[SLAVERY & ABOLITION].  $300 Reward. Ranaway...my Negro Boy George Johnson. Broadside with autograph letter signed ("Nath'l W. Hays") on bifolium integral leaf to Chief of Police of West Chester, Pennsylvania. Bel-Air, MD, 12 November 1849.  
7 11/16 x 9 11/16 in. letterpress broadside printed on bifolium (original creases, occasional brown spots). Signed in type by Nathaniel W.S. Hays. Integral leaf with autograph letter signed (Nath'l W.S. Hays"), issuer of the broadside. Belle Air, [MD], 12 November 1849.  1 page, address panel to verso, with "Paid" and Baltimore blue postage stamps.  A reward broadside for a "Negro Boy George Johnson, twenty years of age" with an extensive description of his physical appearance, demeanor, and attire. Unusually, the broadside has been printed on a bifolium, where Hays writes a personal note to the "Chief or Head Police Officer" of West Chester, Chester County, Pennsylvania. He urges that the broadside be "kept in your pocket or shewn [sic] to persons that would be likely to assist me in getting him." He speculates further: "from what I can learn he is [in] your Town or the Vicinity of it. You may be able to find out throug[h] a confidential Negro, if you have one that you keep as a spy." RARE: No other broadsides with integral letters were located at time of cataloging.  
This lot is located in Cincinnati.
Property from the James Milgram, M.D., Collection of Broadsides, Ephemeral Americana, and Historical Documents

Hindman strives to describe historic materials in a manner that is respectful to all communities, providing descriptive contexts for objects where possible. The nature of historical ephemera is such that some material may represent positions, language, values, and stereotypes that are not consistent with the current values and practices at Hindman.