Bill of sale for a girl named Clary purchased by Robert Jardine for 50 pounds
date: label: Date
content: January 15, 1806
name: label: Written by
content: Unidentified
label: Subject of
content: Unidentified Child or Children
label: Subject of
content: Robert Jardine
label: Subject of
content: John Ferguson, American, 1784 - 1854
label: Subject of
content: Richard Burk, American
label: Subject of
content: Susanah Burk, American
label: Subject of
content: Edmund Burk, American
notes: label: Caption
content: Clary and the Fancy Girl Trade, 1806
label: Caption
content: Black women were the sexual prey of white men since the 1600s. During the domestic slave trade, a new category of enslaved women emerged, known as “fancy girls.” Young and usually light-skinned, these black women were purchased explicitly for sexual exploitation, at rates four to five times the price of women field laborers.
label: Caption
content: Slavery and Freedom Exhibition
label: Description
content: A bill of sale of an enslaved girl named Clary to Robert S. Jardine for the price of fifty pounds. The document is written on yellowed paper in brown colored ink. The document is severely creased and has several areas of loss at center along the creases. It is separated into two pieces. The two original pieces of paper are adhered to a newer piece of paper. The bill of sale begins with "Know all men by these Presents that we / the Subscribers have Bargained, sold, / Transferred and Delivered, and by these Presents / doath Bargain Sel, Transfer and deliver unto / Robert S. Jardine a negro girl named / Clary for the Consideration of Fifty Pounds / Current Money of Virginia…” the document has the names of sellers and witnesses written at the bottom. Additional writing is written vertically in red ink on the upper left corner: “This relic of barbarism was picked up in the travels of Col. Thom Berryhill[2] Virginia All offices in the rebel Army, November 1863.”
place: label: Place made
content: Virginia, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Domestic slave trade
label: Topic
content: Fancy Girl trade
label: Topic
content: Finance
label: Topic
content: Slavery
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Slavery and Freedom Objects
label: Classification
content: Documents and Manuscripts
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2010.1.117ab
objectType: label: Type
content: bills of sale
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: No Known Copyright Restrictions
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: ink on paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (complete): 12 5/16 × 7 3/4 in. (31.2 × 19.7 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (top half): 6 1/8 × 7 3/4 in. (15.6 × 19.7 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (bottom half): 6 1/8 × 7 3/4 in. (15.6 × 19.7 cm)