Raynors HCA 2017-02
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/23/2017
Original newspaper, Harper’s Weekly June 2, 1860, 16pp., 11” x 16,” complete, filled with news and wood-cut engravings. From the interior, an extraordinary engraving showing captured slaves, captioned, “"The Slave Deck on the Bark 'Wildfire' Brought Into Key West on April 30, 1860 - [From a Daguerreotype]." the bottom 1/4 page provides the text description. In part, “ KEY WEST, FLORIDA, May 20, 1860. On the morning of the 30th of April last, the United States steamer Mohawk, Lieutenant Craven commanding, came to anchor in the harbor of this place, having in tow a bark ... The bark had on board five hundred and ten native Africans, taken on board in the River Congo, on the west side of the continent of Africa. She had been captured a few days previously by Lieutenant Craven. ... about four hundred and fifty native Africans, in a state of entire nudity, in a sitting or squatting posture ... About fifty of them were full-grown young men, and about four hundred were boys aged from ten to sixteen years. ... Ninety and upward had died on the voyage. But this is considered as comparatively a small loss, showing that they had been better cared for than usual. Ten more have died since their arrival ...” On the facing page, the text continues with four related engravings, captioned, “The Princess Madia,” "An African," "The Only Baby Among the Africans," and "The Barracoon at Key West Where the Africans Are Confined". Further on in the issue is a lengthy and very detailed article titled, "On Board A Slaver, By One of the Trade". This is an important issue reaching $1000 in one of our 2011 auction The American vessel Wildfire had sailed from New York on December 16, 1859 and refitted as a slave ship in the West Indies. The Wildfire returned from Africa with more that 500 slaves aboard and was approaching the coast of Cuba when she was captured by the U.S.S. Mohawk, one of the warships recently detailed to step up anti-slavery efforts. Wildfire and its human cargo was towed to Key West and turned over to the U.S. Marshal there. The Captains were jailed at Key West, but allowed bail – the seamen for $450, and the Captains, $1,000. Eventually charges were brought against Phillip Stanhope, and the crew of the Wildfire, and Washington Symmes.
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