GARVEY MARCUS Promissory note issued by the Black Cross Navi

Sale 2471 - Lot 209

Price Realized: $ 2,000

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

Estimate: $ 3,000 - $ 4,000

GARVEY, MARCUS. Promissory note issued by the Black Cross Navigation & Trading Co., signed by Garvey as president. Partly-printed Document Signed by Garvey and the treasurer, with the company's embossed stamp, made out to Uriah A. Gittens; two vertical folds. Handsomely matted and framed with a photograph of Garvey; not examined outside of frame. New York, 5 September 1924

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Additional Details

Marcus Garvey founded the Black Star Line in 1919 as part of his efforts to encourage trade with and migration to Africa. It collapsed in 1922 due in part to the active opposition of the United States government. As Garvey awaited trial for mail fraud, he launched the similar Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company, issuing these promissory notes to raise capital. This one was issued to Uriah A. Gittens, who served as executive secretary of the Garvey's United Negro Improvement Association. The company promised to repay his $50 with interest after a five-year period. The second signature is tough to make out; our best guess is Percival L. Burrows, who also served as an officer in Garvey's United Negro Improvement Association, though we haven't established his connection to the Black Cross. The Black Cross was short-lived, as Garvey began serving his sentence at the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary in February 1925.