Object Details
- Created by
- Charles Alexander Burnett, American, 1769 - 1849
- Printed by
- Murphy's General Printing Establishment, American
- Subject of
- Susan Johnson
- Harriet Johnson
- Maria Johnson
- Description
- A letterpress broadside offering a reward for the capture of Maria, Susan and Harriet Johnson, three fugitive enslaved girls owned by Charles Alexander Burnett. The broadside features large, bold, black print, which from top to bottom reads: [$250 / REWARD! / RANAWAY FROM THE SUBSCRIBER / 3 NEGRO GIRLS / MARIA JOHNSON, aged about 25 years, SUSAN JOHN- / SON, aged about 20 years, both full faces, thick set, and / rather dark mulattoes. Susan has a defect in one arm, / which causes her to use it somewhat awkwardly. HAIR - / RIET is about 13 years old, small and much darker com- / plexion than the others. All are sisters, and, at the time / they ran off, were serving as house-servants. / $100 each will be given for Susan and Maria, and $50 / for Harriet, if delivered to me in Georgetown, D. C., or / lodged in Baltimore County, or Montgomery County Jail. / For further information call on C. Levering & Clark, / Baltimore, or the subscriber. / C. A. BURNETT, / GEORGETOWN, D. C. / March 15, 1848. / Printed at MURPHY’S General Printing Establishment, 178 Market street, Baltimore.].
- After printing, Burnett apparently requested several edits to make the three sisters easier to spot. The changes were added in manuscript, noting that Maria "is darker than a mulatto"; Susan "is a light mulatto" with a "scar on her left elbow"; and Harriet "is short but heavy . . . and is left-handed." The docketing on verso reads "1848 C.A. Burnett vs. 3 girls."
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- March 15, 1848
- Object number
- 2020.26.8
- Restrictions & Rights
- Public domain
- Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
- Type
- broadsides
- Medium
- ink on wove paper
- Dimensions
- H x W: 11 3/4 × 9 1/2 in. (29.8 × 24.1 cm)
- Place depicted
- Baltimore, Maryland, United States, North and Central America
- Place printed
- Georgetown, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
- See more items in
- National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
- Classification
- Slavery and Freedom Objects
- Memorabilia and Ephemera - Advertisements
- Exhibition
- Slavery and Freedom
- On View
- NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Concourse 3, C3 053
- National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Topic
- African American
- Children
- Families
- Fugitive enslaved
- Self-liberation
- Slavery
- Women
- Record ID
- nmaahc_2020.26.8
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5d83d22b4-8888-48b0-b932-d62e9ac5eb78
