Raynors HCA 2014-11
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/6/2014
c. 1840, Woodblock Printing Plate, illustrating a scene of members of the Suffolk Board of Trade welcoming a black man being a reference to the "Amistad" Slave Case, 2-1/2” x 3-3/4" 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 Woodblock appears to date to the mid-1800's. There are two counties by this name in the United States, the most important is 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. Fine condition. This Wood Printing Block may actually depict a scene in the famous "Amistad" Legal Slave Related Case, made famous by the 1997 movie, "Amistad." In 1839 a group of African Slaves took control of a Cuban Slave Ship "Amistad" and attempted to sail it back to Africa. The ship's crew, however, secretly headed the ship towards America, where it was intercepted 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 the captured Slaves were eventually returned back to Africa.
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