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c. 1840 AMISTAD Woodblock Printing Plate Illustrating The Suffolk Board of Trade

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:800.00 USD Estimated At:1,200.00 - 1,600.00 USD
c. 1840 AMISTAD Woodblock Printing Plate Illustrating The Suffolk Board of Trade
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Post-Revolutionary War to Civil War
1840s AMISTAD Slave Case Related Woodblock Printing Block “Suffolk Board of Trade” (Boston, Massachusetts)
c. 1840, Woodblock Printing Plate, Illustrating a Scene of Members of the Suffolk Board of Trade Welcoming a Black Man, Possibly a Reference to the historic “Amistad” Slave Case, Extremely Fine.
Hand-Engraved Wooden Printing Block, measuring 2.5” x 3.75” depicts an indoor scene of a crowd of White Men standing around a seated and fairly well dressed Black Man (who looks a bit confused), apparently eager to welcome and converse with him. One of the men in the foreground holds a banner reading, “Suffolk Board of Trade.” From the style, this Woodblock appears to date to the mid-1800’s. There are two counties by this name in the United States, the most important is the City of Boston. Though not formally organized until 1854, the Boston Board of Trade had existed long before this time as an informal organization.

This historic Woodblock Printing Plate appears to depict a scene in the famous “AMISTAD” Legal Slave Related Case, made famous by the 1997 movie, “Amistad.” In 1839 a group of African Slaves took control of a Cuban Slave Ship “Amistad” and attempted to sail it back to Africa. The ship’s crew, however, secretly headed the ship towards America, where it was intercepted off the coast of Long Island. A serials of trials in Connecticut followed, ending in 1841 before the U.S. Supreme Court, where the Africans were defended by former President John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts. They were Acquitted of charges of Piracy and Murder, and the captured Slaves were eventually returned back to Africa. This image may represent a congratulatory meeting in Boston following their acquittal. This rare Printing Block is in excellent condition, with no cracks or significant flaws.