This portrait is included in Chapter X, "A Visit to Houston," where it accompanies the section "Types from Negro-Life." The engraving depicts the auctioneer's "young man," a black man carrying a bell and a flag that reads "AUCTION SALE." Describing him and other Houston "types", King wrote: "The street life is interesting; the negro on his dray, racing good-humoredly with his fellows; the ragged urchin with his saucy face and his bundle of magnolia-blossoms; and the auctioneer's "young man," with his mammoth bell and brazen voice, are all interesting types, which, as the reader will observe, the genial and careful artist has faithfully reproduced." (p. 116), Illustration in Edward King's The great South: a record of journeys in Louisiana, Texas, the Indian territory, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland (Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company, 1875), p. 116., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes from Daily Life.
Creator
King, engraver
Date
[1875]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1875 King 3379.Q p 116, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2827
