This engraving shows a man and woman (with a child in her arms) on an auction block, surrounded by white men. G. H. Andrews explained how "The auction rooms for the sale of Negroes are situated in the main streets, and are generally the ground floors of the building; the entrance-door opens straight into the street, and the sale room is similar to any other auction room. . . placards, advertisements, and notices as to the business carried on are dispensed with, the only indications of the trade being a small red flag hanging from the front door post, and a piece of paper upon which is written. . . this simple announcement - 'Negroes for sale at auction'" (p.138-140). George Henry Andrews (1816-1898) was a British engineer, marine painter, watercolourist and illustrator. In 1860, he was sent to North America to cover the Prince of Wales's tour of Canada and the U.S. He made his sketches on the spot.

George Henry Andrews, "Slave Auctions in Richmond, Virginia," The Illustrated London News, vol. 38 (Feb. 16, 1861), p.139.

Andrews, George Henry

English

Image is in the public domain. Metadata is available under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International.

auction_Richd_1861

North America--Virginia--Richmond

"A Slave Auction in Virginia", Slavery Images: A Visual Record of the African Slave Trade and Slave Life in the Early African Diaspora, accessed October 2, 2023, http://slaveryimages.org/s/slaveryimages/item/2226