Broadside advertising "Valuable Slaves at Auction" in New Orleans: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A broadside for the auction of twenty enslaved men, women, and children at the City Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana. Large text printed in black ink at the top reads [VALUABLE / SLAVES / AT AUCTION, / AT THE CITY HOTEL COMMON ST. / BY C.E. GIRARDEY & CO., Office No. 6 Banks' Arcade]. Below this, it gives the date of the sale as [THURSDAY, Feb. 3, 1859] and lists the names, ages and skills of the enslaved individuals for sale:

[1. ISAM, black, aged about 40 years, a superior engineer and blacksmith has worked over 20 years with the late Wm. Chapman; is well known for character and qualification throughout the Parish of St. James.

1. JOHN, griffe, aged 24 years, a No. 1 carpenter and ship caulker.

2. TOM, black, aged 24 years, a No. 1 blacksmith and machinist.

3. GEORGE, mulatto, aged 30 years, house and confidential servant.

4. MATILDA, black, aged 17 years, good cook, washer and ironer.

5. PAULINE, black, aged 13 years, speaks French and English, good house girl and child’s nurse.

6. PHILUS, black, aged 30 years, good cook, washer and ironer, and her child aged 2 years.]

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: February 3, 1859
• Issued by: C. E. Girardey, French, born 1812
• Subject of: Unidentified Child or Children
• Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men
• Subject of: Unidentified Woman or Women
• Type: broadsides
• Medium: ink on paper (fiber product)
• Dimensions: H x W: 16 1/8 × 7 5/8 in. (41 × 19.4 cm)
• Place used: New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Agriculture
• Topic: American South
• Topic: Business
• Topic: Commerce
• Topic: Domestic slave trade
• Topic: Fancy Girl trade
• Topic: Skilled labor
• Object number: 2014.63.16
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: Public domain Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.