Mar 26, 2015 - Sale 2377

Sale 2377 - Lot 153

Price Realized: $ 406
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 600 - $ 800
(NARRATIVES.) CHARLTON, LEWIS. "Lewis Charlton, 50 Years in Bondage in Maryland, U.S.A., and for 28 Years Suffered the Worst Effects of Slavery.' Carte-de-visite. Dawlish, England: Chapman, circa 1884

Additional Details

A note in ink on the reverse of this card reads: 'Wednesday, February 20th, 1884. Friends M.H. (Meeting House).' All carte-de-visites of slaves are uncommon. A published account of the life of Lewis Charlton came out in the 1870's titled 'A Sketch of the Life of Lewis Charlton,' written by Edward Everett Brown. Charlton's life was terrible. While still in his early teens, he was made to work in below freezing weather at night, resulting in permanent damage to his legs. He was then sold a number of times, and even endured treatment under Reconstruction almost as bad as his former bondage.