2020-07 2 sessions
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/23/2020
Slavery related antebellum South Carolina letter, 3pp. 4to., written by Francis Jordan, Charleston, S. C., Dec. 11, 1844, to his "dear folks," reading, in part: "…we will leave for Wilmington, N. C. this afternoon…the Exchange Reading Room…is a small affair…situated in the business part of the city…there must be over 30,000 bales of cotton on the wharves exposed to the weather. the auctions are all in one street near the Cooper River. Dry goods, groceries & 2nd hand furniture all selling in a row. Business seems to be very brisk. There are more ships here than at Phila…I called on Dr. Lessure…he is a man about 50 years…he is a red hot loco foco, Calhoun, slavery, gold & silver Southerner. Hates the tariff & the abolitionist like black thunder…he has 20 slaves in his house, 3 cooks, coachman, valet, etc…Charleston appears to me like an old Spanish town. The roofs of the houses are all tiles and the bricks of a sickly color. The store houses are strong & large but appear…squatty in appearance. The negroes are quite a different appearance from our blacks. The high cheek bones & forehead all denote African race…I am delighted with the place, the climate & the people. I can walk in a straight line here. The Ni**ers turn out of your way…it is a strange sight to see the 'Buzzards' walking about the street & sitting on the tops of the houses eating the offals from the market. I do not wonder that the yellow fever makes such havoc here. The city is situated very low & the flood tide frequently comes over the wharves & a great many places are overflowed &…in summer most be very offensive…Francis Jordan." The original transmittal leaf, addressed to: "Mess. Jordan & Brother, Merchants, Philadelphia," with red twenty-five cent Charleston cancellation, is included. Minor spotting, else overall VG to near fine.
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