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Lot 4033

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c. 1840 AMISTAD Woodblock: Suffolk Bd. of Trade

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Black History

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c. 1840 Woodblock Printing Plate "Suffolk Board of Trade"

c. 1840, Woodblock Printing Plate, Illustrating a Scene of Members of the Suffolk Board of Trade Welcoming a Black Man, Possibly a Reference to the Amistad Slave Case, Choice Extremely Fine.
This original, hand-engraved, 2.5" x 3.75" wooden printing block, depicts an indoor scene of a crowd of White men standing around a seated and fairly well dressed Black man (who looks a bit confused), apparently eager to welcome and converse with him. One of the men in the foreground holds a banner reading, "Suffolk Board of Trade." From the style, this block appears to date to the mid-1800's. An internet search failed to turn up anything on a "Suffolk" Board of Trade. There are, however, 2 counties by this name in the United States, the most important of which contains the city of Boston. Though not formally organized until 1854, the Boston Board of Trade had existed long before this time as an informal organization. This printing block may depict a scene in the Amistad Case, made famous by the 1997 movie, "Amistad." In 1839 a group of African slaves took control of a Cuban slave ship and attempted to sail it back to Africa. The crew, however, secretly headed the ship towards America, where it was intercepted by an American ship off the coast of Long Island. A serials of trials in Connecticut followed, ending in 1841 before the U.S. Supreme Court, where the Africans were defended by former President John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts. They were acquitted of charges of piracy and murder, and were eventually returned to Africa. This image may represent a congratulatory meeting in Boston following their acquittal. This rare printing block is in excellent condition, with no cracks or significant flaws. A wonderful and possibly historic printing block.



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