An important, large (nearly 6′ x 6′) 1864 Lincoln banner fetched a record $124,000 (including 15 percent buyers premium) at Slater’s Americana, Inc., during the firm’s June 19-26 phone and internet auction, the first diversified Americana sale conducted by the gallery.

Unique in its focus on slavery and the Emancipation Proclamation, the banner depicted kneeling male and female slaves. It received institutional attention but was ultimately purchased by a private Ohio collector on the phone for a price that was, according to auctioneer Tom Slater, $1,000 short of a private record but twice that of the 2001 auction record set by The Rail Splitter.

The sale, which attracted 1,700 bidders (half of whom participated via the internet), grossed $1.3 million, a record for the gallery.

A complete report will appear in a future issue.