Mar 30, 2017 - Sale 2441

Sale 2441 - Lot 109

Price Realized: $ 27,500
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 10,000 - $ 15,000
A SIGNIFICANT PIECE OF NEW ORLEANS REAL ESTATE (SLAVERY AND ABOLITION---NEW ORLEANS.) Habitation Livaudais. Part Hewlett & Raspiller, Lundi Mars courant, a l'heure de Midi ils sera vendu a la Bourse 54 Tetes d'Esclaves des Deux Sexes. Letterpress broadside advertising the sale of an estate and its 54 slaves. 17 x 11 inches, matted and framed; old hole, obscuring a few letters, entirely legible and understandable in context; ink notation at the foot of the piece with the date and signature of Raspiller, one of the auctioneers. New Orleans, 1832

Additional Details

an exceptionally rare broadside for the sale of the faubourg livaudais plantation, an historically significant piece of real estate, together with its 54 slaves; located in what would be today's garden district of new orleans. The slaves are all identified as "Creoles [born in Louisiana] or in the country for a long time, and fully aware of the work of a dwelling. Among the slaves there are many talents, which further description will be given at the time of sale." A few of the slaves: "Jean Baptiste, Creole, good subject, might be good commander having already completed the functions at Livaudais dwelling, age 26." or "Henry, American, having a condition of sight, carter and laborer, age 18 and Macounoute, Creole. Prone to runaway, age 11(!)" Several women are described as "good milk market," meaning they are good wet nurses--providers of mothers' milk for the children of the upper crust whose ladies would rather have someone else's breasts abused by their hungry little charges.
The Faubourg Livaudais was first subdivided in 1832 when Bernard Marigny's sister Celeste Phillipe Marigny Livaudais (1784-1864) sold her property. Mme. Livaudais originally acquired the plantation after her ex-husband Jacques Livaudais failed to show up in court to answer a lawsuit filed against him. Before that, the large expanse of choice real estate was controlled by a small number of French families. The property, which ran between Phillip and Harmony St., sold for $490,000. We could not determine if the result of the sale of slaves was included in the above total.