(SLAVERY AND ABOLITION SHACKLES) Pair of Middle Passage sla

Sale 2204 - Lot 67

Price Realized: $ 4,080

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 1,500 - $ 2,500

(SLAVERY AND ABOLITION--SHACKLES.) Pair of Middle Passage slave shackles. Typical wrought-iron, shackles, consisting of a 13 inch long bar, with two 3 inch sections through which one's wrists were placed and locked in; some rusting and pitting consistent with age. Americas, circa late 18th, early 19th century

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Additional Details

This is the only type of shackles that is verifiable as having been made specifically for use in the slave-trade. The design is illustrated in Lydia Maria Child's "Appeal in Behalf of that Class of Americans Called Africans" (Boston, 1833) and numerous other 19th century anti-slavery tracts. Many shackles that are offered today in the "collectible" market are simply handcuffs or leg-irons, commonly used by law enforcement for over one hundred years. Collectors should beware.