A wealth of printed and manuscript African Americana will be going under the hammer at Swann Galleries on February 25.
The lots include signed manuscripts, antique advertisements and photographic images depicting the lives and times of African Americans in the US.
 Madame CJ Walker, the noted business woman and philanthropist |
Varied themes explored in the auction include business, art, music, slavery and abolition and the Black Panthers.
Among the highlights is a vivid and wonderful photographic portrait of Madame CJ Walker, the noted black business woman and philanthropist.
This photograph of Madame Walker was famously featured on the labels of many of her products, and taken by Addison Scurlock, one of the most noted black photographers of the day.
The 6 x 4 inches silver print portrait is dated to Washington DC, circa 1910-1915, and bears the embossed stamp of the photographer in the lower right corner.
Madame Walker's portrait will carry an estimate of $3,000-5,000 when it auctions next Thursday.
Pre-sale exhibitions of the lots opened at Swann in New York yesterday, and will continue until noon on the day of the auction.
For collectors of social and historical memorabilia unable to make Swann's sale, another key piece of African-American memorabilia has also emerged on the market.
A signed copy of Martin Luther King Jr's seminal book "Stride Toward Freedom" from 1961 is currently for sale priced £6,000 ($9,900).
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Image: Swann
