Researchers at the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University recently discovered a pamphlet in the university’s collections that had not been catalogued previously. The pamphlet is entitled Catalogue of Negroes, Mules, Carts, Wagons & C. The catalogue of items for sale at auction was complied by John G. Winter of Montgomery, Alabama.
The publication describes the contents as “so valuable and desirable a gang of Negroes has never been brought together upon any occasion.” Included among the items for sale are descriptions of 115 slaves that include their age, gender, skills, strengths, health records, and any deficiencies the seller wanted the buyer to know. Among the slaves listed were those named Kentucky Henry and Little Charley. The seller offered a 5 percent discount for cash sales.
