Letter to M. C. Taylor from T. Heatherly regarding the slave trade

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

This letter was written in Richmond, Virginia, on December 28, 1840, by T. Heatherly to Doctor M. C. Taylor of Richmond, Kentucky. Heatherly writes of purchasing one enslaved man for $630.00 whom he plans to sell in Kentucky for $800.00. He also lists current sale prices for women in Richmond, Virginia, noting they are very high. He writes in part, "I am not shure that it would not be as well to by boys as any thing I could git them home quicker and for less expence than any other discription" referencing enslaved young men and male children as having the best potential profit. The paper is folded in half and the letter is written on the right side of the front and reverse sides, with the address on the left side of the reverse. A postmark dated December 29 from Richmond, Virginia, is stamped in blue ink by the address.

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