Toussaint Louverture Collection
name: label: Author
content: Toussaint Louverture, Francois Dominique, 1743-1803
label: Collector
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Cultural History
place: label: Place
content: Haiti
topic: label: Topic
content: African American art
label: Topic
content: African diaspora
label: Topic
content: Haiti -- History -- Revolution, 1791-1804
label: Topic
content: Prints -- 19th century
label: Topic
content: Resistance
label: Topic
content: Slavery -- Haiti
label: Topic
content: Violence
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Source of acquisition unknown.
creator: label: Author
content: Toussaint Louverture, Francois Dominique, 1743-1803
abstract: label: Summary
content: Seven portraits and a manuscript letter relating to the Haitian slave revolt leader Toussaint Louverture.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Haitian slave revolt leader. Alternate spelling of name: L'Ouverture.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 8 Items
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1801-1805, undated
label: Date
content: undated
container: label: Container
content: Box 1 (Shared box)
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: Collection transferred to the Archives Center by the Division of Cultural History (now Division of Cultural and Community Life), May 18, 2001.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0781
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Correspondence
label: Type
content: Holographs
label: Type
content: Paintings
label: Type
content: Portraits
label: Type
content: Signatures (names)
label: Type
content: Watercolors
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Collection arranged in one series.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Collection processed by Vanessa Broussard Simmons, archivist, 2024.  Finding aid encoded by Meredith Clowse, intern, 2024.
bibliography: label: Bibliography
content: Some of the portraits are illustrated in the exhibition catalog by Fritz Daguillard, "Enigmatic in His Glory: Toussaint Louverture (1743-1803),"  Musee du Pantheon National Haitien, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 28 March-22 April 2003 (copy in collection control file).
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence -- 1800-1810
label: Genre/Form
content: Holographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Paintings
label: Genre/Form
content: Portraits
label: Genre/Form
content: Signatures (names)
label: Genre/Form
content: Watercolors
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Collection includes a signed letter written in French by Toussaint Louverture dated November 25, 1801, on pre-printed official letterhead stationery with a translated copy.  The letter is written to Tobias Lear general agent of the United States trade in Santo Domingo. Louverture thanks Lear for the translation of another letter relating to obtaining a horse for him. He emphasizes several times that the color of the horse is of no significance if it is swift. In addition, there are seven portraits of Louverture including two watercolors and five prints. The artists of the portraits are unknown.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Legal Documents Concerning Slavery Collection, 1710-1865, NMAH.AC.0786

National Museum of African American History and Culture 

Letter signed by Toussaint Louverture to Charles Humbert Marie Vincent from Cap-Français (now Cap-Haïtien), Haiti, on October 21, 1797, object number 2009.26.2ab

Silkscreen print of Toussaint Louverture by Jacob Lawrence, 1986, object number 2008.12. 1

Silkscreen print of Toussaint Louverture by Jacob Lawrence, 1986, object number 2008. 12. 2

Silkscreen print of Toussaint Louverture by Jacob Lawrence, 1990, object number 2008. 12. 3

Silkscreen print of Toussaint Louverture by Jacob Lawrence, 1993, object number 2008. 12. 4

Silkscreen print of Toussaint Louverture by Jacob Lawrence, 1992, object number 2008. 12. 5

Silkscreen print of Toussaint Louverture by Jacob Lawrence, 1988, object number 2008. 12. 6

Silkscreen print of Toussaint Louverture by Jacob Lawrence, 1989, object number 2008. 12. 7

Silkscreen print of Toussaint Louverture by Jacob Lawrence, 1994, object number 2008. 12. 8

Silkscreen print of Toussaint Louverture by Jacob Lawrence, 1997, object number 2008. 12. 9

Silkscreen print of Toussaint Louverture by Jacob Lawrence, 1995, object number 2008. 12. 10

Silkscreen print of Toussaint Louverture by Jacob Lawrence, 1987, object number 2008. 12. 11

Silkscreen print of Toussaint Louverture by Jacob Lawrence, 1994, object number 2008. 12. 12

Silkscreen print b of Toussaint Louverture y Jacob Lawrence, 1996, object number 2008. 12. 13

Silkscreen print of Toussaint Louverture by Jacob Lawrence, 1997, object number 2008. 12. 14

Silkscreen print of Toussaint Louverture by Jacob Lawrence, 1997, object number 2008. 12. 15

Poem "The Ballad of the Free" written by Margaret Walker, 1966, object number 2013.154.3

Interview with Jon Daniel, July 28, 2014, object number 2019.47.7.1

Smithsonian Institution Archives

Smithsonian Institution, Website Records, SIA.FA12-507

Smithsonian Institution, Website Records, SIA.FA13-191

Anacostia Community Museum Archives

Out of Africa: From West African Kingdoms to Colonization exhibition records, ACMA.03-031

Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections

Curatorial Research, Programs, and Projects, circa 1990-2013, CFCH.CRPP

Other Repositories

Collection of correspondence, decrees, proclamations, and a passport, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress


Handwritten letter from Toussaint Louverture (circa 1743–1803) to the French Minister of Marine and the Colonies, Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Books Division, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library


Collection of primary sources on the Haitian Revolution and Toussaint Louverture, University Library, Santa Clara University