Portrait of James Presley Ball, probably Cincinnati, Ohio, circa 1870, albumen photograph, 3½ by 2 inches, stood first in the auction for $125,000 and sold to an institution.
Review by Z.G. Burnett, Images Courtesy Swann Auction Galleries
NEW YORK CITY – On March 30, Swann Auction Galleries conducted its Printed & Manuscript African Americana sale, with 94 percent of 300 lots sold that resulted in $1,377,463. The catalog included photographs, manuscripts, literature, ephemera and art. Unsurprisingly, institutional interest in this sale was strong; 43 different institutions registered to bid, and at least 105 lots sold to 29 of those, in addition to lots purchased for institutions through private agents. “Numerous libraries, archives and museums across the country are making up for lost time by increasing their representation of Black history. For 25 years, Swann has been the leading conduit for bringing this source material from private hands into public hands,” noted Rick Stattler, director of books and manuscripts and specialist for the sale.
First among these was a full-length carte de visite albumen portrait of James Presley Ball (American, 1825-1904) that led the auction at $125,000. Ball was one of America’s first Black photographers who, after training in Boston, Mass., set up an itinerant studio in 1845 until settling in Cincinnati, Ohio, from 1849 to the early 1870s. He pulled up stakes again and ran studios in southern and western towns before ending his days in Hawaii. The photograph was autographed “Respectfully J.P. Ball” on the reverse, had no backmark and was in excellent condition. Only one other photograph of Ball is known to exist and it sold to an institution.
Next in price was an image that is as impactful now as it was upon first publication: one of McPherson & Oliver’s 1863 three photographs titled “The Scourged Back.” The subject, a man named Gordon, escaped slavery to a Union camp where he joined the army as a private. This and other photographs were taken by a camp photographer, then published as engravings in the July 4 issue of Harper’s Weekly, 1863. The photograph’s original owner inscribed on the reverse in ink, “Actual results of slavery in Louisiana (from the life).” It sold for the record price of $75,000 ($10/15,000).
Disturbing reading: this correspondence from leading Richmond, Va., slave traffickers contained 41 letters and documents, and sold for $50,000, to an unnamed institution.
Related to this was an original group photograph from July 1864, showing African American “United States Soldiers at Camp William Penn.” Located in Cheltenham, Penn., this camp was founded in 1863 specifically for the United States Colored Troops squadron that called recruits from across the country. Eleven regiments of these troops were trained at Camp William Penn. The albumen photograph was on its minimal plain stiff paper mount, and marched off at $52,500 ($10/15,000).
Third in price of the auction was a manuscript broadside of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery in the north and south of the United States. To celebrate its passage after months of arduous deliberation, several unofficial broadsides of the amendment were published, including this example, which was still signed with 117 signatures, including vice president Hannibal Hamlin, speaker of the house Schuyler Colfax, 31 senators and 80 different representatives. The vellum document sold for $52,500 ($80/120,000).
Four lots hit the $50,000 mark, including the correspondence archive of Richmond, Va., slave dealers Dickinson Hill & Co and S.R. Fondren. The intricacies of human trafficking described therein is difficult to digest but vital to understanding American history as well as contemporary issues; it was bid to $50,000 ($30/50,000). Another volume that sold for this figure was the diary of Lincoln Ripley Stone, surgeon of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, the first regiment of Black soldiers in the Union Army, with related photos. One more lot to sell for $50,000 ($25/35,000) was an archive of letters from American sculptor Richmond Barthé (1901-1989) to his friend, playwright Easton Lee of Jamaica.
Prices quoted with buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. Swann Auction Galleries’ Fine Photographs auction is on April 27. For information, www.swanngalleries.com or 212-254-4710.
