The Slave Sale

unknown · ca 1855

This undated print depicts a scene from Chapter 30 of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, “The Slave Warehouse,” in which the fifteen-year-old Emmeline is separated from her mother and sold to the villainous Simon Legree. A group of white men are gathered in a circular inspecting a selection of slaves who are up for auction. On the left, a young boy is examined by a group of prospective buyers, while Emmeline stands on the auction block on the right. Her mother makes a pleading gesture towards Legree, who raises his hand to place the winning bid. A caption below the illustration, a caption reads, “The Hammer Falls…’he has got the girl body & soul unless God help her,’” revealing the man’s sexual desire towards the girl. In this illustration, Emmeline has been given distinctively white skin, to emphasize that she is a quadroon, one-fourth black, and thereby garner extra sympathy from white Northerners.