Hake’s anti-slavery auction brings $472,118 on rare civil-rights artifacts

Hake’s June 23 Anti-Slavery to Civil Rights Auction totaled $472,118 with buyer’s premium, led by a rare Eugene Warburg sculpture, an original “I Am A Man” placard and a Frederick Douglass broadside. The 366-lot sale drew strong bidding for materials spanning anti-slavery history through the civil-rights era and into the Obama presidency.

Why it matters: - The sale showed continued demand for historically important African American and civil-rights material. - Top results set new benchmarks for an early African American sculptor and for one of the most recognizable civil-rights protest artifacts. - The auction also highlighted the market value of rare anti-slavery ceramics, broadsides and protest ephemera.

What happened: - Hake’s Anti-Slavery to Civil Rights Auction closed June 23 and totaled $472,118, including buyer’s premium. - The auction featured 366 lots drawn from consignments compiled by Hake’s Americana Director Scott Mussell. - The sale included the first installment of the Rex & Patti Stark Collection, described as one of the foremost private holdings of anti-slavery ceramics. - Hake’s is now accepting consignments for a second Anti-Slavery to Civil Rights Auction. - More information is available through Hake’s online.

The details: - Eugene Warburg’s circa-1856 Copeland Staffordshire Parian porcelain statuette of Uncle Tiff sold for $95,592, against a $20,000 high estimate. - The Warburg figure set an auction record for the artist. - Warburg was born enslaved in New Orleans and is among the earliest-known African American sculptors. - An original “I Am A Man” cardboard protest placard from the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike brought $58,427. - The placard nearly tripled its $20,000 high estimate and set a new world auction record for the artifact type. - The script matched materials used at the Martin Luther King Memorial March for Union Justice and to End Racism in Memphis on April 8, 1968. - A circa-1872 Frederick Douglass Republican Party rally broadside from Maine sold for $25,486, above its $20,000 high estimate. - The 29-inch by 21-inch broadside advertised guest speakers Frederick Douglass and former Maine Gov. Israel Washburne. - A circa-1820s anti-slavery tortoiseshell and horn tea caddy brought $16,285, well above a $6,000 high estimate. - The caddy featured a wax figure of a kneeling enslaved person in chains, under verre eglomise domed glass with silver inlay. - A glossy button showing Theodore Roosevelt and Booker T. Washington at an Oct. 16, 1901 White House dinner realized $14,401. - The button likely satirized Roosevelt’s opponent Alton Parker during the 1904 presidential campaign. - A circa-1820 Staffordshire anti-slavery statue depicting violence against an enslaved man sold for $3,515. - A circa-1830s Staffordshire emancipation statue finished at $9,125. - The reference book Staffordshire Figures 1780-1840 states both statues are the only known examples. - A circa-1909 painted plaster bust of Booker T. Washington by Isaac Hathaway sold for $7,199, far above a $2,000 high estimate. - A pro-James Buchanan satirical broadside titled “Rally! No Popery! No Slavery! No Rum!” brought $10,038. - A ceramic miniature portrait of abolitionist John Brown sold for $6,691. - A circa-1840s six-piece nesting blue-green botanical transferware wedding cake-style set with the verse “Let the oppressed go free” finished at $5,027. - A “March For Freedom Now” protest button from a 1960 demonstration outside the Republican National Convention sold for $4,774, well above its $800-$1,200 estimate.

Between the lines: - The strongest prices clustered around items tied to iconic names, recognizable slogans and visually striking protest material. - The auction mix suggests collectors are still paying up for objects that connect directly to major moments in anti-slavery and civil-rights history. - The breadth of the catalog, from the 1780s to the Obama era, widened the appeal beyond a single period or movement.

What's next: - Hake’s plans a second Anti-Slavery to Civil Rights Auction with additional ceramics from the Rex and Patti Stark Collection. - The company is soliciting consignments for that future sale and other auctions. - Interested consignors can call +1 866-404-9800 or +1 717-434-1600, or email hakes@hakes.com.

The bottom line: - Hake’s turned a specialized history sale into a strong result, led by record-setting prices for rare African American art and civil-rights artifacts.