Sold for $945

2pp, folio, 5 3/4 x 7 1/2 in. (creasing, approx. 1 in. tear at bottom center fold, paper opposite of center vertical fold has been removed but does not affect letter content).

Dr. Conway Davies Whittle, the son of a prominent Virginia merchant and businessman, was raised on a plantation near Whittle's Mill in Mecklenberg County, Virginia. The 1860 US Federal Slave Schedule indicates that Whittle enslaved 24 men, women, and children, the exact number of persons he offers to sell in this letter from November of the same year.  Addressed to "Davis, Deupree & Co.," a Richmond firm founded expressly to engage in the slave trade, Whittle's letter states in part: "By your card in the Richmond Whig, I see you offer to buy '50 to 100 negroes.' I wish to sell those I own, 24 in number & save one, a woman of fifty nearly, all are under thirty years of age...." Whittle continues by describing the gender, ages, and complexions of those he enslaved, as well indicating that sixteen were "good hands," that "Fanny, the woman of fifty" cooked and washed, and that among the group there were carpenters, shoemakers, and "3 who ditch very well." The letter concludes with questions about the prices for buying and selling the enslaved individuals, and a request that he receive a response without delay.