10 Likely and Valuable Slaves: Brooke & Hubbard 1823

Chilling slave auction advertisement from Brooke & Hubbard, dated Wednesday, July 23, 1823, announcing the sale of "10 LIKELY and VALUABLE SLAVES AT AUCTION" on Thursday the 24th at 11 o'clock. The poster advertises "10 AS LIKELY NEGROES As any ever offered in this market" and describes them by their labor skills: "a man who is a superior Cook and House Servant, and a girl about 17 years old, a first rate House Servant, and an excellent seamstress." The casual language of "likely" and "valuable" reduces human beings to commodities evaluated by their usefulness and market appeal. The advertisement promises sale "without any kind of reserve for cash," treating people as merchandise to be liquidated. The emphasis on their skills—cooking, house service, seamstressing—shows how enslaved people's talents were exploited for profit. A stark document of slavery's commodification of human beings, available in three sizes with your choice of black or silver aluminum frame.