Hake’s Anti-Slavery to Civil Rights Auction, online now and ending June 23, features many historically-significant items

Featured: 1872 broadside for a Maine Republican Party rally with Frederick Douglass as guest speaker; 1859 stoneware jug with inscription regarding John Brown

YORK, PA, UNITED STATES, June 2, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Hake’s Anti-Slavery to Civil Rights Auction, online now and closing on Tuesday, June 23, is filled with rare, important and historically-significant items that trace a long arc of history starting in the 1780s, advancing through the MLK era to the Obama presidency. This very special sale showcases the unique and exceptional ceramics collection of Rex and Patti Stark, with additional consignments from around the country compiled by Hake’s Americana Director Scott Mussell, whose passion for documenting the African American experience is reflected in each of the auction’s 366 premier lots.

Several items are expected to battle for top-lot honors. One is a circa-1872 thin, canary-yellow broadside advertising a Maine Republican Party rally featuring the African American social abolitionist Frederick Douglass and former Maine governor and state Republican Party co-founder Israel Washburne as guest speakers. It rained that day in August 1872, thus greatly diminishing chances that the 29-inch by 21-inch broadside would survive. This extraordinary artifact is estimated at $10,000-$20,000.

Another top-lot candidate is a circa 1859-1860 stoneware jug with an inscription that reads, “Dec. 1st 12 O'clock P.M. Gov. Wise Sleeps With One Eye Open Expecting The Rescue Of John Brown.” It is a reference to the white Christian militant abolitionist John Brown, whose death by hanging the following day, December 2, 1859, was expedited by Virginia Governor Henry A Wise. The 11½-inch-tall jug advises Wise, who was mired in apprehension, to sleep “with one eye open.” Estimate: $10,000-$20,000

A third key lot is a circa-1856 Copeland, Staffordshire Parian porcelain statuette of “Tiff,” a character from Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel Dred. The delicate, well-detailed 12-inch-tall sculpture was executed by the African American sculptor Eugene Warburg, who trained as a stonecutter and traveled to Europe to further his artistic career. The Duchess of Sutherland, an abolitionist, commissioned Warburg to do a series of works based on Stowe's two anti-slavery novels. Estimate: $10,000-$20,000

One of the most iconic artifacts of American history is also one of its simplest and most unassuming. It’s a thin cardboard placard measuring 13¾ inches by 21¼ inches, with just the four words, “I Am A Man,” in bold black ink. The placard was used by protestors during the Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike in 1968. This variant script corresponds to that seen on materials used at the Martin Luther King Memorial March for Union Justice and to End Racism, Memphis, Tenn., held April 8, 1968. Estimate: $10,000-$20,000

Dr King arrived at Memphis in time for the March 28 demonstration that featured “I Am/ A Man” placards with the iconic slogan on two lines of text. He delivered his “I Have Been To The Mountain Top” speech on April 3 and on April 4 he was assassinated. The SCLC, along with Coretta Scott King, organized a silent march on April 8 that featured placards reading “Union Justice Now”, “Honor King End Racism” and this three line variety of the “I Am A Man” slogan. All are equally rare with only a handful of any example reaching the market.

Certainly one of the most visually arresting items up for bid is a glossy, well-made button showing a full-color depiction of Theodore Roosevelt and Booker T Washington at their historic October 16, 1901 White House dinner, the first time an African American was invited to dine at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The depiction of Washington sharing a drink from a bottle of liquor indicates the design was likely produced in a satirical nature, meant to be used in support of Roosevelt’s opponent Alton Parker during the 1904 Presidential campaign. It contrasts the print found in Lot 172, with a more defined rendition of Washington and the pair seated at a dinner table with a portrait of Abraham Lincoln on the wall. The button estimate is $7,000-$10,000; the poster estimate IS $2,000-$5,000.

Lot 59 is a circa-1820 Staffordshire anti-slavery statue, 6¼ inches tall, depicts an enslaved man and his master on an octagonal base. It is a jarring and explicit depiction of physical violence, as the slave master whips the enslaved man, whose hand holds the chains that bind him. The statue has hand-detailed and painted features, with only minimal expert restoration to the paint at the chain, jacket and base. Despite its disturbing portrayal, this artwork is exceedingly rare and would make a coveted addition to even the most advanced collection. Estimate: $5,000-$10,000

Lot 60 pairs with lot 59. It is a 6½-inch-tall, circa-1830s Staffordshire emancipation statue, brightly enameled and standing on an octagonal base. It shows a jubilant man emerging from the bonds of slavery, with a whip and chains – the discarded tools of oppression – lying broken beneath his feet. Britannia is clutching a shield, while a cornucopia and English rose are bolstered by the Bible as bedrock. The book Staffordshire Figures 1780-1840 states both statues are the only known examples of their kind. Like its companion, this piece carries a $5,000-$10,000 estimate.

A circa-1820s anti-slavery tortoiseshell and horn tea caddy, octagonal in form with inlaid bone panels and an ornate silver top hinge, has a wax figure of a kneeling enslaved figure in chains atop a pedestal against a painted bone background. All are encased under a verre eglomise domed glass cover framed in silver inlay. Sugar consumption linked tea to the transatlantic slave trade, and this tea caddy corresponds to efforts by female abolitionists throughout the 1820s to boycott slave-produced sugar. Estimate: $4,000-$6,000

A circa-1830 Wedgwood double-sided anti-slavery seal fob with intaglios stating, “Am I Not A Man And A Brother” and “Am I Not A Woman And A Sister” was displayed at the Metropolitan Museum’s 2022-2023 “Fictions of Emancipation: Carpeaux Recast” exhibition. The intaglios, in contrasting black and white, are a symbolic marriage of race and the sexes. The black gem features the male version of the William Hackwood design for Wedgwood; the white gem includes the female version. Estimate: $2,000-$5,000

Lots 50 through 57 comprise a group of mostly anti-slavery medallions and wall plaques – plus one pincushion – that date from the 1810s to the 1830s. They contain sayings and slogans such as “Am I Not A Man And A Brother,” “Am I Not A Woman And A Sister,” “The Tender Mercies of the Wicked Are Cruel,” “Thank God For Liberty,” and “O Britannia Set Us Free.” While small, ranging in height from 4 to 5½ inches, but are beautiful aesthetic objects that embody a strong anti-slavery statement. Lot estimates range from $1,000-$2,000.

A few other noteworthy lots include:

• A French circa-1820 porcelain nautilus shell inkwell with a transferware abolitionist symbol of a kneeling enslaved woman, with a biblical verse, 5½ inches tall. Estimate: $1,000-$2,000
• A French porcelain encrier (or inkwell), 11 inches by 7 inches, with transferware anti-slavery images and biblical quotes, gilt accents. Estimate: $1,000-$2,000
• Circa-1840 tri-color transferware pitcher attributed to Staffordshire, inscribed to “J.W.” in blue cobalt, with multiple anti-slavery motifs and a nice red border. Estimate: $1,000-$2,000

Hake’s June 2-July 1 Anti-Slavery to Civil Rights Auction featuring the Rex and Patti Stark collection is now open for bidding. For a free printed catalog or additional information on any item in the sale, call
+1 866-404-9800 (toll-free) or +1 717-434-1600; or email hakes@hakes.com. View the fully illustrated catalog online and sign up to bid at https://hakes.com/.

Scott Mussell
Hake's Auctions
+1 866-404-9800
email us here

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