Black American history is brought to life at Freeman’s Hindman Feb. 27

Maria Howard Weeden portrait of an elderly woman, estimated at $5,000-$7,000 at Freeman's Hindman.

CINCINNATI — Freeman’s Hindman’s American Historical Ephemera and Early Photography sale on Tuesday, February 27 features documents, historical artifacts, and photography from throughout American history, with a focus on the pioneering figures and key moments that shaped the African American experience during the last 300 years. The complete catalog is available for bidding at LiveAuctioneers.

The leading lot of the sale is Roll, Jordan, Roll, number 122 of a total press run of 350 books signed by author Julia Peterkin and photographer Doris Ulmann. Published by Robert O. Ballou in 1933, the book is a sympathetic and non-stereotypical view of former slaves living in the Gullah coastal region of South Carolina. It carries an estimate of $8,000-$10,000.

A Reconstruction-era broadside political poster alerting voters to how their votes would be interpreted with regard to ‘Negro suffrage’ is another top lot. It reads in part, “Every Republican vote is a vote for Negro suffrage / In favor of Congress compelling us to let the Negro vote.” Published by the Democratic campaign of Charles T. Molony, his message was apparently heard as he went on to win his New Jersey State Assembly race. The broadside is in fair condition with some areas of loss; its estimate is $7,000-$9,000.

Another New Jersey-related item focuses on the Republican Party’s attempt to push voting rights for Black males in the 1868 election. It is estimated at $3,000-$4,000.

Maria Howard Weeden (1847-1905) was an Alabama-based poet and artist who published and signed her works as ‘Howard’ Weeden. Her sympathetic portraiture of emancipated Blacks earned her great respect throughout her career, and even exhibitions in Europe. This watercolor of an elderly woman has an estimate of $5,000-$7,000.

This carte de visite of Frederick Douglass was imaged by J. B. Roberts around 1867 at his Rochester studio, located at 58 State Street. The lot notes describe it as “Possibly a previously unknown image”, though it resembles another image in the Rochester Public Library collection. It is estimated at $2,000-$3,000.

'Roll, Jordan, Roll,' estimated at $8,000-$10,000 at Freeman's Hindman.

'Roll, Jordan, Roll,' estimated at $8,000-$10,000 at Freeman's Hindman.

'Attention! Voters! Don't Be Deceived' political poster, estimated at $7,000-$9,000 at Freeman's Hindman.

'Attention! Voters! Don't Be Deceived' political poster, estimated at $7,000-$9,000 at Freeman's Hindman.

'The Two Records. Voters. Read and Remember' political tract, estimated at $3,000-$4,000 at Freeman's Hindman.

'The Two Records. Voters. Read and Remember' political tract, estimated at $3,000-$4,000 at Freeman's Hindman.

Maria Howard Weeden portrait of an elderly woman, estimated at $5,000-$7,000 at Freeman's Hindman.

Maria Howard Weeden portrait of an elderly woman, estimated at $5,000-$7,000 at Freeman's Hindman.

Jim Bunte

Jim Bunte

Jim Bunte has worked in editorial, design and the toy and auction industries for more than 30 years. He co-founded Auction Central News in 2007.

Hindman sells early photography archive for $300K

Daguerreotype portrait of Henry Fitz Jr. taken in January 1840. Price realized (for photographic archive): $300,000
Daguerreotype portrait of Henry Fitz Jr. taken in January 1840. Price realized (for photographic archive): $300,000
Daguerreotype portrait of Henry Fitz Jr. taken in January 1840.
Price realized (for photographic archive): $300,000

CINCINNATI – On November 15, Hindman Auctions sold one of the earliest photographic portraits taken in America as part of a collection of photographs that realized $300,000. The archive was purchased by a midwestern museum. Offered in The Henry Fitz Jr. Archive of Photographic History auction, the photographs were recently rediscovered after lying for 87 years in an unheated shed in Peconic, New York. The cache included photographs of Henry Fitz Jr. (1808-1863) and his family taken between 1840 and 1842 as well as early telescopes and other optical devices.

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Hindman presents archive of exceptionally early photography Nov. 15

Daguerreotype portrait of Henry Fitz Jr., taken in January 1840, one of the earliest surviving photographic portraits taken in America. It is one of 22 daguerreotypes in the Fitz archive, which is estimated at $150,000-$300,000.
Daguerreotype portrait of Henry Fitz Jr., taken in January 1840, one of the earliest surviving photographic portraits taken in America. It is one of 22 daguerreotypes in the Fitz archive, which is estimated at $150,000-$300,000.
Daguerreotype portrait of Henry Fitz Jr., taken in January 1840, one of the earliest surviving photographic portraits taken in America. It is one of 22 daguerreotypes in the Fitz archive, which is estimated at $150,000-$300,000.

CINCINNATI – On November 15, Hindman Auctions will offer The Henry Fitz Jr. Archive of Photographic History. Forgotten since the 1930s, a cache of some of the earliest photographic portraits taken in America was recently discovered in an unheated shed near Peconic, Long Island. It has been heralded as a “national, if not international treasure” by Grant Romer, a photo historian and Curator Emeritus of the George Eastman Museum, the world’s recognized home of photographic history. The archive consists of 22 daguerreotype portraits of Henry Fitz Jr. and his family taken between 1840 and 1842. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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