RARE AND HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY FLAG BANNER, cotton, powerful flag form, canton with stenciled eagle retaining penciled outlining, "NO UNION WITH SLAVERY" motto, and 23 stars (excluding Secessionist states at the time), fly with six black and seven white stripes, sewn hoist sleeve with likely original cord. Archivally mounted in a custom frame. Reserve. Circa 1861. 60" x 106" object, 71" x 116 1/4" OA.
Scattered minor to moderate staining/discoloration. Small tears and losses. Not examined out of frame.
Provenance: From an important Virginia private collection.
Cowan's Auctions, 11/18/05, lot 1601.
Catalogue Note: Featured on the PBS show, "History Detectives" (Episode 3, 2004), this rare artifact from the eve of the Civil War descended in the family of William Henry Duff, an Irish immigrant who is thought to have lived in Rochester, NY, in the early 1860's. Research suggests that the present banner may have been used at an Abolitionist convention held on January 11, 1861 at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, a noted center of anti-slavery activity at the time. Likely inspired by William Lloyd Garrison's "No Union with Slaveholders" motto, this banner radiates graphic power through the inclusion of the stenciled eagle, the stark palette, and the direct force of its simple four-word slogan. An important survival from a turbulent period of our country's past, the appearance of the present banner on the open market represents a rare opportunity to own an iconic piece of American history.

Scattered minor to moderate staining/discoloration. Small tears and losses. Not examined out of frame.