Inspection and sale of a Negro [graphic] / F. Mayer ; Whitney, Jocelyn, Annin sc.
Title
Inspection and sale of a Negro
Description
Scene is set in the town of Bangalang, near the modern city of Kambia in Sierra Leone. According to Théophile Conneau's narrative, the engraving shows the notorious slave-trader Jack Ormond as he inspects a slave for purchase. As Conneau explained, "As each negro was brought before him, Ormond examined the subject, without regard to sex, from head to foot. A careful manipulation of the chief muscles, joints, arm pits and groins was made, to assure soundness. The mouth, too, was inspected, and if a tooth was missing, it was noted as a defect liable to deduction. Eyes, voice, lungs, fingers and toes were not forgotten; so that when the negro passed from the Mongo's [i.e, "King of the River," Ormond's nickname] hands without censure, he might have been readily adopted as a good 'life' by an insurance company." (p. 94) To the left of the central pair, another European slave-trader (presumably the seller) sits on a crate, smoking a cigar as he watches the inspection. His book, the quill, and the ink-well suggest that he is prepared to record the day's transactions. To the right, another European trader converses with three African merchants, possibly members of the Mandingo tribe. The subject of their discussion may be the sale of goods in Africans' trunk., Illustrated plate in Théophile Conneau's Captain Canot; or, Twenty Years of an African Slaver (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 346 & 348 Broadway; London: 16 Little Britain, M.DCCC.LIV [1854]), p. 94., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Images from the Slave Trade.
Creator
Whitney, Jocelyn & Annin, engraver
Date
[1854]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1854 Can 10796.D p 94, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2797
African slave trade [graphic] / Felch-Riches.
Title
African slave trade
Description
Illustration is set on the eastern coast of Africa, most likely in Sierra Leone. In the center, a slave-trader inspects a slave for purchase. To the left of the pair, another European slave-trader (presumably the seller) sits on a crate, smoking a cigar as he observes the inspection process. His book, the quill, and the ink-well suggest that he is prepared to record the day's transactions. To the right, another European trader converses with three African merchants, possibly members of the Mandigo tribe. The subject of their discussion may be the sale of goods in the Africans' trunk. To the far right, an overseer with a raised whip marches behind a row of bound slaves who are headed toward a ship., Plate in William Blake's The History of Slavery and the Slave Trade, Ancient and Modern (Columbus, Ohio: Published and sold exclusively by subscription J. & H. Miller, 1858), p. 112., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Images of the Slave Trade.
Creator
Felch-Riches, engraver
Date
[1858]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1858 Blake 70419.O p 112, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2802