NEW YORK CITY — Swann Auction Galleries conducted its Printed & Manuscript African Americana sale on March 30, presenting 300 lots of important images and documents from American history that totaled $1,377,463. The first among these was a carte de visite albumen photograph portrait of James Presley Ball (1825-1904), who was one of the first Black photographers in the United States. Ball began his career in 1845 and set up studios throughout the continent until his death in Hawaii. The photograph was also inscribed with Ball’s autograph on the reverse. This combination resulted in a winning price of $125,000, double the second highest lot’s result and far exceeding the photograph’s $6/9,000 estimate. Prices quoted with buyer’s premium, more on this and other lots in an upcoming issue.