#Dominic Winter Auctioneers

[artmialma]

Roger Davis

c 1955

[jules-writes-stories]

The Night Court Lounge | Tribeca, NYC

I forgot to post my WIP...Thursday? | Azriel x Eris AU |

“Perhaps I might have resisted a great temptation, but the little ones would have pulled me down” ―The House of Mirth

There was nothing like spotting one’s mother at a BDSM club. 

The ink was still wet on his parents’ divorce papers, but there she was for all to see, sprawled across Helion’s lap. After all, the Vanserras could always be counted on to feed the tabloids and gossip columns. 

Eris planned to finish his whiskey and make a discrete exit. But then, his heart leapt into his throat and his dick hardened at first sight. 

He’d been expecting Thesan in his usual get up. Eris occasionally came to The Night Court to support his ex. The man could still turn him on like no one else. They’d never been good at long-term relationships, but they could be each other’s confidantes, a soft place to fuck and forget for a spell. 

Eris had hoped to get that from his ex tonight, and was taken aback when something, someone, completely different entered the main stage. 

The man looked younger and Thesan’s lithe body and smooth brown skin was replaced by a lighter, golden tone, covered in scrolling Arabic across a sleek muscled chest. In place of white feathers were black leather bat wings. 

Eris found the whole thing to be absurd and had teased Thesan about it incessantly. But this man, his broad tattooed shoulders, the planes of his abs below the leather harness, those wings did something to him. He needed to go to fucking sleep or get laid.

Black lined eyes like topaz gazed out at the crowd. Eris wanted to smell those black curls, to test their silk between his fingers. He was being absurd. 

The beautiful man got to his knees in the most submissive prone position in the cage, and Eris watched him lean, like an overgrown house cat, into the auctioneer’s hand as she stroked those curls through iron bars. And fuck if it wasn’t the hottest thing he’d ever seen. This man was dangerous, even caged, and Eris wanted that creature purring between his legs. 

Then Helion made a spectacle of himself, announcing his intentions, and that sealed the deal. Eris would win. He hadn’t made the Wall Street Journal’s “30 Money Makers under 30” lists three years in a row for nothing. He was an apex predator in every boardroom, could dominate every corner of the market. But what made him dangerous was his discretion.

The Wall Street wolves of Beron’s generation were past their prime. They were showy hunters who howled at every win, too certain of their supremacy and too concerned with pack politics. Thanks to a twenty four hour news cycle and social media, the current global market was volatile, and one must be ready to strike silently and with sudden force. For Eris Vanserra was no wolf. He was a snake. 

He watched the kneeling figure, whose eyes traveled the room. Eris needed them on him. Look at me. See me. And almost as if the beautiful, dark creature read his thoughts, his head turned and hazel locked with his own. Fuck. Eris watched those gorgeous eyes travel along his face, lingering on his mouth. He smirked. Then, lower, down to his shoulders, to his chest, and lingered, once more, on his fingers. Eris moved them, ever so slowly, along the wet rim of his cocktail glass. 

As those glittering eyes followed them, Eris swore he saw the man’s pupils blow out further. This beautiful stranger wanted him. And Eris had to possess this caged creature, needed to steal him away from Helion, from the pretentious Lord Winters, from Donna Suriel, the most sadistic bitch on this side of the Hudson. But mostly, Eris just wanted to watch that gorgeous face unfold with pleasure. Wanted that perfect body prone beneath him, before him, begging for release. 

He was coiled in position and ready. And then Eris clocked it: a shadow of discomfort passed across the man’s face. He shifted and this time, it was not with arousal. His legs were cramping and he was tired. He gave three taps to his leg. He saw it for what it was. The sub had used his safe signal. Feyre, the auctioneer, almost imperceptibly, picked up the pace. She’d seen it too. 

Those hazel eyes locked with his once more, as if to say, Don’t you want me? Eris kept his face impassive. He would reveal nothing. It was how he got this far, how he'd survived twenty-seven years as Beron’s son, and had made his name as the Viper of Wall Street. 

“Forty thousand,” Helion called out in his bombastic voice. 

Feyre called out quickly, “Forty thousand. Going once, twice and—” 

He struck. “Fifty thousand.” Eris was sure to keep his voice level, his timbre smooth. It did no good to sound desperate or overwrought. 

Hazel eyes locked with his, and it took all his will power not to stand up and take what was his. Because the caged, leashed, beautiful man, there on his knees, literally leaned forward, subtly arching his back so perfectly, as if his body couldn’t help but move closer to the sound of Eris’s voice. The auctioneer must have seen the same thing, because she didn’t give anyone a chance to counter. 

“Sold to Eris Vanserra for fifty thousand dollars.”  

[thesoulprophecies]

Things Found In Second-hand Books.

June 14, 2023 Caitlin Lynagh

I always find it fascinating when I pick up a second-hand book and find a previous owner’s inscription, especially when they are dated and you’re holding something that was written decades ago. It’s part of the history of that book as it has been passed through many hands. Often these inscriptions are just names and dates, but sometimes a previous owner will write a message to a friend or a loved one as they pass the book along, and sometimes previous owners will comment on the contents of the book itself – they’re not always flattering but always entertaining.

I handle a lot of second-hand books as part of my job, and sometimes there’s more than just an inscription inside these books. I often find old bookmarks, and things that people have grabbed to use as bookmarks. I’ve found postcards, photos, letters, receipts, greetings cards, and more. It is worth checking pieces of paper for signatures, you may stumble across the signature of someone famous. I’ve also been told that some people use money as bookmarks too but I haven’t come across any actual money yet.

I never used to save any of these items but I’ve started collecting and saving things that I find in books. Recently I found two letters in a copy of ‘Flowers of the Field’ by Rev Charles Alexander Johns. One was dated 27th July 1949 and read as follows:

My Dear [N],

I think you told me you did not possess a copy of Johns; here it is –  a small thank-offering for delivering us from the lions den. 

Please don’t acknowledge this; I’ll hope to see you when we get back on Sept 5th. 

I hope you’ll have a really good holiday.

yours ever, [W.M.] 

You often find dried and pressed flowers in-between the pages of old books, particularly books on natural history. Cuttings from magazines and newspapers appear frequently too, often relating to the book itself or its subject matter. Feathers also make popular bookmarks, but people will often use just about anything they can as a place holder.

Finding random things inside of books is not a new thing. In 2018, a librarian at the college’s Schaffer Library reportedly found an envelope with a lock of George Washington’s hair inside. This envelope was found in a copy of ‘Gaines Universal Register or Columbian Kalendar’.

In 2014, Auctioneers Dominic Winter presented a copy of 1940’s ‘The Problem of Pain’ by C. S. Lewis with an original handwritten letter inside that detailed C. S. Lewis’ definition of Joy.

A pair of spectacles was reportedly found in a 1907 copy of ‘The Story of a Fight’ by Hugh Lloyd. The spectacles had been inside the book for so long that they had damaged the binding.

Whether it be shopping lists, tickets, love letters, or other more peculiar items, it seems that readers will never fail to find something to hide or use as a bookmark.

References:

N.Y. College Says Forgotten Book Reveals Lock Of George Washington’s Hair : The Two-Way : NPR

Unseen CS Lewis letter defines his notion of joy | CS Lewis | The Guardian

Seven Of The Weirdest Objects Found In Books | ManyBooks

[cocktailsfairytales]

LIMITED TIME SALE!

Get ready to dive into the irresistible world of desire and domination with Highest Bidder by @AuthorWillowWinters & @lauren.landish, now on sale for just 99 cents!

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https://geni.us/highestbiddercol

Blurb

From USA Today bestselling authors Willow Winters and Lauren Landish comes a sexy and forbidden collection of 4 standalone romances.

Everything has a price … and I’m willing to pay.

I trust no one. I thrive with control and I’ve learned to be ruthless and cold-hearted. I’m not interested in love, but I still have desires.

That’s where Dahlia comes in. She’s never been a submissive before and I’m eager to train her. When I saw her on stage at the auction, dressed in gold, I knew I had to have her.

She was meant to be a distraction. Nothing more.

One lie changed everything. A lie she told to hide how broken she really is.

I own her for now. She’s mine for an entire month.

But a month isn’t long enough for what I want to do with her. I don’t care what the contract says. I bought her and now she’s mine.

Dive into the series readers can't stop talking about! All four titles included in one collection.

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Includes all four, full-length, stand-alone romances in the Highest Bidder series: Bought, Sold, Owned and Given. Featuring demanding, rich, and powerful men all with happily ever afters and no cliffhangers.

#HighestBidder #WillowWinters #LaurenLandish #Sale #LimitedTimeOffer #RomanceBooks #99Cents #BookSale #RomanceReads #BookSale #LimitedTime #99Cents #MustRead #BookLovers #KindleDeals #ForbiddenLove #Bestseller #KindleUnlimited #candikaneprpromo @candikanepr

[thewineauctionroom]

New Post has been published on https://wineauctionroom.com/report-on-winter-online-auction-annoucing-next-live-auction/

Report on Winter Online Auction & Annoucing Next Live Auction

As we publish the catalogue for the virtual/live auction on August 1st, you may want to read what’s been happening in the auction scene to help you prepare your bids. Fine wine markets continued to go through a corrective period during the second quarter of 2023. However, the downturn must be kept in perspective; fine wine is a long-term investment, and prices are still far higher than they were just a few years ago. For those with a long-term horizon, the current dip may open up more attractive buying opportunities.

  Our Winter Online auction closed on Sunday, July 02 received progressive interests and waved bidding activities, potentially summing up two major buying strategies lately: a more cautious buying mindset reflecting current economic circumstances while quite some others see a falling market brings great buying opportunities.

  In this auction, there weren’t that many “unicorns” reaching new record prices though the majority of the lots, which were entry to medium-tiered wines, held very solid prices. The biggest hammer win went for 2002 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia magnum at $1175, followed by 1960 Chateau d’Yquem at $1081.

  All Syrah dominated, 2003 E. Guigal La Mouline and 2005 Craggy Range Le Sol 5 litre sold for the same price at $940 while 2006 E. Guigal La Turque sold for $470.

  For Bordeaux blends, 2004 Penfolds Bin 60A sold for $893 and 2003 Chateau Pavie reached $470, while 2010 Chateau Pontet Canet sold for $423 and 2006 Destiny Bay Magna Praemia achieved amazing $376.

  From Burgundy and beyond, 2008 Domaine JF Mugnier Nuits St Georges Clos des Marechale 1er Cru, 2005 & 2009 Maison Capitain Gagnerot Echezeaux Grand Cru all sold at the same price of $235 while 2013 Felton Road Block 5 and 2012 Domaine Bruno Clavelier Nuits St Georges Aux Cras 1er Cru both sold for $176.25. 2019 Louis Jadot Domaine Duc de Magenta Puligny Montrachet Clos de la Garenne 1er Cru sold for $211.50, followed by 2020 Domaine Jacques Carillon Puligny Montrachet at $152.75.

  Other highlights include 2007 Egon Muller Scharzhofberger Riesling Spatlese sold for $293.75, 2002 Sierra Cantabria Amancio reached $211.50 and 2019 Prophet’s Rock Cuvee Aux Antipodes Blanc achieved $99.875.

  All prices include Buyers Premium but exclude GST.

  Thanks again to all of our bidders, consignors, and friends from the lovely wine community for your continuous support.

  Our catalogue is available online for our next auction, scheduled for August 1st from 6pm. This is a Virtual Live/Online auction, so whilst the sale room will be closed, you can join the excitement online, on the phone, or by placing your absentee bids early (a recommended tactic). Place your absentee bids today via auctions.wineauctionroom.com

  **

For those who just want to grab a few bottles of something nice on the go, don’t forget to check out the latest arrival to our everyday retail selection at www.wineretailroom.co.nz. Apart from our carefully curated wine selection, we also offer niche whisky, premium glassware and harder-to-find wines.  Our boutique selection offers items to suit all tastes, pockets and occasions.

[rulinarulina]

Πριγκίπισσα Νταϊάνα: Αυτές είναι οι δύο «πονηρές» κάρτες που δημοπρατούνται – Τις είχε στείλει στον τέως βασιλιά Κωνσταντίνο

Σε δημοπρασία βγαίνουν στη Βρετανία δύο «πονηρές» κάρτες που είχε στείλει η πριγκίπισσα Νταϊάνα στον τέως βασιλιά Κωνσταντίνο. Αναλυτικότερα, οι συγκεκριμένες κάρτες θα βγουν σε δημοπρασία από τον οίκο Dominic Winter Auctioneers. Υπολογίζεται ότι η τιμή τους μπορεί να φτάσει ακόμα και τις 5.000 λίρες. Την είδηση αναπαράγουν μια σειρά από βρετανικά ΜΜΕ. Princess Diana sent two cards that feature…

[livesunique]

“Fairy with Posy”, from “The Cottingley Fairies” series, 1920, 

The Cottingley Fairies appear in a series of five photographs taken by Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths, two young cousins who lived in Cottingley, near Bradford in England. In 1917, when the first two photographs were taken, Elsie was 16 years old and Frances was 10. 

The pictures came to the attention of writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who used them to illustrate an article on fairies he had been commissioned to write for the Christmas 1920 edition of The Strand Magazine.

Vintage hand-coloured gelatin silver print, pencil letter 'D' to lower right corner, original stiff card mount, 19.5 x 14cm.

Dominic Winter Auctioneers 

[downthetubes]

Dominic Winter Auctions offers Keith Watson “Dan Dare” art, “Captain Pugwash” and more in upcoming

Dominic Winter Auctions offers Keith Watson “Dan Dare” art, “Captain Pugwash” and more in upcoming

[artmialma]

Edward Robert Hughes (1851-1914)

1897

The model may be Hilda Virtue Tebbs (1874-1953)

[peashooter85]

Miquelet rifle mounted with ivory, brass, and glass gems, Turkey, 18th century

from Dominic Winter Auctioneers

[magictransistor]

William Blake. Our Time is Fix'd, Watercolor Illustration to The Grave, by Robert Blair. 1808. 

[isabellaanzanello]

Dominic Winter Auction

A Hellenistic Marble Figure of Aphrodite, circa 2nd century B.C., three-quarter length carved white marble, some age discolouration, partial loss to the nose, small damage with loss to the right leg just above the knee, small portion to front of left leg with old repair, and further repair to the back of the figure on the left side, height 53cm (20.75ins), mounted on a modern wooden plinth, height 13 cm (overall height 66 cm, 26 ins)

Provenance: Collection of Mark Oliver (1899-1987), Edgerston, Roxburghshire, Scotland, thence by descent.

[epicstuckyficrecs]

Weekly Recap | October 4th-10th 2021

Sorry it's a bit late, I had a three day weekend and I was very very lazy :P ALSO this week is the Preview Week for the Marvel Trumps Hate auction!!! The Preview Week is when you can have a look at all the offerings, spot the ones you're interested in, and even sign up and save your favourites in a watchlist before bidding week starts! You can find my auction listing on Tumblr and on the MTH website. This year, I will be offering one fic cover/banner and one typesetting auction - turning a fic into a book! 😃 If you're interested in any of those, make sure you head over to my offerings page and add me to your watchlist!

Complete

The Buck Stops Here by theemdash/ @theeemdash (Canon divergent, Presidential Candidate Steve Rogers | < 1K | Teen): The presidential campaign trail has been tough on Steve Rogers, luckily his campaign manager and best guy is along to take care of him.

serpentine serenade by thiccbuckybarnes/ @thiccbuckybarnesfic (Naga AU, PWP | 3K | Explicit | Warning: Rape/Non-Con): Bucky returns from a long mission and finds Steve in rut. (Part 4 of Kinktober 2021)

i'm gone in such a blaze by thiccbuckybarnes/ @thiccbuckybarnesfic (Shrunkyclunks, PWP | 1K | Explicit): “C’mon, Stevie, I know you can do better than that.” (Part 2 of as you seep on in 'verse, Part 6 of Kinktober 2021)

💙 a rocky heart for breaking teeth by thiccbuckybarnes/ @thiccbuckybarnesfic (Hunkyclunks aka Modern Beefy Steve/Winter Soldier Bucky, Dom/Sub AU | 25K | Explicit): Bucky takes a sip of his drink, his gaze still locked with the sub over the rim of the glass. He sees the curiosity in those forget-me-not-blue eyes, that flash of interest, of attraction. It makes Bucky’s blood set ablaze under his skin, like a match striking a dry surface, igniting from friction. It’s a feeling he hasn’t in a long time—decades, even, considering he’d been chemically castrated during his imprisonment as the Winter Soldier and is now pumped up with enough suppressants to—well, to abate the intense needs of a super soldier that happens to be a Dominant. (Part 5 of Kinktober 2021)

💙 a shrinking violet no more by thiccbuckybarnes/ @thiccbuckybarnesfic (Historical Royalty AU, A/B/O | 7K | Explicit): He drinks up everything Bucky says as he promises himself, commits himself. Steve aches to touch him, to undress him and reveal that sweet body, to bring his omega pleasures that he cannot fathom. He wants to open this flower, take his body like no other ever has, to hoard every moan and tremble. His blood sings at the promise of it, the certainty that their bodies will be joined as one in mere hours. Steve simply cannot wait to devour his omega whole, to make him his forever. (Part 7 of Kinktober 2021)

💙 a wolf in sheep's clothing is more than a warning by voxofthevoid / @voxofthevoid (Vampire Bucky, Werewolf Steve | 13K | Explicit): How to Cope When Your Werewolf Soulmate Tries to Kill You With Sex: A Beginner’s Guide by James Buchanan Barnes. (sequel to your smoking gun's the tip of your tongue)

Reheating by fandomfluffandfuck/ @fandomfluffandfuck (Uni AU, Hockey | 20K | Explicit): Steve Rogers, center, first line. Bucky Barnes, right defenseman, first line. Steve cannot possibly make it through this year with his roommate being fucking Bucky. It’s not that the guy is too messy or stays up too late or anything as simple as that, it’s something that Steve can’t possibly approach him about… right? Like, saying, “hey can you stop being so fucking attractive for a second because it’s driving me insane,” is not the same as saying to someone, “hey could you quit leaving your clothes all over our floor so I don’t trip and die?” Good thing Bucky will end up beating him to punch, huh? (Part 2 of On Thin Ice)

💙 5 times Steve was Bucky’s Prince Charming (and 1 time he was a frog) by kocuria, kocuria-visuals (kocuria)/ @kocuria (Shrunkyclunks, Musician Bucky | 20K | Mature): It starts like this: Boy meets boy. Or, to be more exact: boy meets Captain America. Boy decides trolling is absolutely the way to go about his crush. Since, clearly, there’s no pigtails to pull. What the boy does not realize is: while trying to troll Captain America might seem like a sound plan, trolling Steve Rogers? Oh, that is bound to backfire.

💙 Falling Back on Forever by ftmsteverogers/ @transbucky (Canon Divergent, Winter Soldier Steve, Winter Soldier Bucky | 24K | Explicit): Bucky falls from the train in 1945. Steve jumps right after him. The Winter Soldier and the Midnight Patriot are the world's most feared duo, serving HYDRA and leaving a trail of bodies a mile wide behind them. But then they remember.

WIP

A Tapestry of Two by BlueSimplicity/ @bluesimplicity73 (Post-Winter Soldier, Mute Bucky | 2/? | 9K | Explicit): Ever since DC, things haven’t been easy for Bucky Barnes. HYDRA stole everything from him, even his voice, and two months later he’s barely surviving as he struggles to pull the few scraps of himself left into a cohesive whole. Until he gets his hands on a blanket and everything changes. Fascinated by its color and softness, he begins a journey he never would have imagined. Taken in by a stranger who teaches him to knit, Bucky slowly discovers he is so much more than a dropped stitch in the fabric of life. With time, patience, and the help of a few who have had their eyes on him for a long time, Bucky begins to turn himself into something stronger, softer and more beautiful than before, weaving a tapestry of friendship, laughter and love warm enough to embrace the entire world, fix old wrongs, and wrap around the only other person who never stopped believing in him.

💙 Give the Devil His Due by kocuria-visuals (kocuria)/ @kocuria, thiccbuckybarnes/ @thiccbuckybarnesfic (Historical Fantasy AU, Demon Steve | 2/4 | 16K | Explicit): "What is your name?" is all Bucky can think to ask, even though there are a million other things that should probably be said. Those curious blue eyes seem to consider him, his head tilting slightly in thought. He holds out his hand, and it's only then that Bucky realizes that it isn't stained with blood. Or at least, it can't be blood. For blood is not black. "Steve," the man says, but his voice sounds strange when he says it, like he’s asking a question rather than saying a decided fact.

💙 Read, White & Blue by JJK/ @trenchcoatsandtimetravel (Shrunkyclunks, Librarian Bucky | 3/16 | 14K | Teen): If Steve was certain one thing would have stayed the same during his sixty-something years in the ice, it was that libraries were still the place to go if you needed information. And Steve needed information. Lots and lots of it. aka Librarian Bucky helps freshly desfrosted Steve learn how to use computers and catch up on everything he missed whilst he was in the ice.

Re-read

💙 happily ever after has bite marks in it by voxofthevoid/ @voxofthevoid (Canon Divergent, Werewolf Steve, Winter Soldier Bucky | 29K | Explicit): In which Bucky is aggressively okay with his self-imposed exile from society, and Steve is a werewolf who’s nothing like the Brooklyn boy Bucky still dreams of. (Part 1 of in this story, you have claws)

💙 there's a light at the crack that's separating your thighs by voxofthevoid/ @voxofthevoid (Werewolf Steve, Winter Soldier Bucky, PWP | 26K | Explicit): Three times Steve and Bucky almost get caught having sex, and the one time the Avengers walk in on them. (Part 2 of in this story, you have claws)

💙 series: Sugar Sugar by geneticallydead/ @geneticallydead (Shrunkyclunks, Sugar Daddy Steve, Daddy Kink | 3 works | 19K | Explicit): The first time Steve sees Bucky Barnes, he knows he is so fucked. He can’t be older than 20. He looks up when Steve comes into the lab – summoned by Tony to check out the latest suit redesign – and bites down on his plush lower lip and smiles shyly at Steve. So, so fucked. OR Bucky wants to be Steve's sugar baby, and isn't exactly shy about it.

💙 series: Werewolf? There Wolf by leveragehunters (Monkeygreen)/ @leveragehunters (Werewolf Steve, Modern Bucky | 5 works | 65K | Teen): After the car accident that cost him his arm and the endless rehabilitation that got him his shiny metal Stark Industries replacement, Bucky's happy for a break from people. The house in the forest is peaceful, town's a fair distance away, and he's got no neighbours...except maybe a blue-eyed wolf and possibly a naked guy named Steve.

[nuthindoing1996]

René Groebli The Eye of Love. A Love Poem in Photographs, 1954 First edition, London.

[via Dominic Winter Auctions]

[corvettesupercar]

It’s Monday and #CorvetteTodayPodcast is available for download where ever you get or listen to #Podcasts! Also on YouTube ‼️

#Repost from @corvettetodaypodcast (Instagram)

CORVETTE TODAY #97- Corvette News & Headlines, Mid February 2022

Even though it’s Winter, there’s still a ton of Corvette news to be had. Your “A Team” of CORVETTE TODAY host, Steve Garrett and Keith Cornett from CorvetteBlogger.com team up once again to deliver the most important Corvette news from the last 2 weeks!

Here are a few of the topics covered in this podcast and YouTube video:

1.The Corvette C8 Z06 Dealer Tour is underway

2.Corvette sales dominate the competition in 2021

3.Chevy’s January 2022 average transaction price up 17%

4. Corvette Racing does tire testing at Sebring

5. Callaway Cars creates a road legal track C8 for customers

6. The new Level 2 Carbon Fiber Trim Package requires a 3LZ interior trim on your Z06.

7. The C8 E-Ray's DCT transmission possibly revealed in patent by Tremec

8. The secret to the C8 Z06’s torque comes from a 200 year old German physicist

9. Anderson Composites makes a full Carbon Fiber C8 body kit

10. YouTuber, Stradman, has a C8 Z06 “delivered" to his driveway

11. The NCM’s Stingray Grill welcomes new consulting Head Chef Bobby Hammock

12. HUGE special announcement from Steve Garrett and Keith Cornett-make sure to check out the end of the podcast!

Make sure you’ve listened or viewed this News & Headlines podcast before Thursday, February 24th, for the big announcement, brought to you by the Mecum Auctions, CorvetteBlogger.com and the CORVETTE TODAY podcast!

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST, WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO, VISIT THE WEBSITE, SIGN UP FOR CORVETTE TODAY EMAILS AND JOIN THE CORVETTE TODAY FACEBOOK GROUP BY CLICKING HERE: www.CorvetteTodayPodcast.com

#podcast #podcastlife #podcastersofinstagram #corvette #corvettec8 #corvettelifestyle #corvettez06 #corvettetoday #corvettetodaypodcast #corvettemuseum #corvettemods #c8stingray #c8corvettestingray #c8corvette #corvettec8 #corvettec8r #corvettelifestyle #corvettelifestyle #chevrolet #chevy #teamchevy #corvetteracing #vettelife #chevycorvettestingray #chevycorvettes #corvettemidengine #stingraynation #corvettelove

[didanawisgi]

This article was published online on February 10, 2021.

“Massachusetts abolished enslavement before the Treaty of Paris brought an end to the American Revolution, in 1783. The state constitution, adopted in 1780 and drafted by John Adams, follows the Declaration of Independence in proclaiming that all “men are born free and equal.” In this statement Adams followed not only the Declaration but also a 1764 pamphlet by the Boston lawyer James Otis, who theorized about and popularized the familiar idea of “no taxation without representation” and also unequivocally asserted human equality. “The Colonists,” he wrote, “are by the law of nature free born, as indeed all men are, white or black.” In 1783, on the basis of the “free and equal” clause in the 1780 Massachusetts Constitution, the state’s chief justice, William Cushing, ruled enslavement unconstitutional in a case that one Quock Walker had brought against his enslaver, Nathaniel Jennison.

Many of us who live in Massachusetts know the basic outlines of this story and the early role the state played in standing against enslavement. But told in this traditional way, the story leaves out another transformative figure: Prince Hall, a free African American and a contemporary of John Adams. From his formal acquisition of freedom, in 1770, until his death, in 1807, Hall helped forge an activist Black community in Boston while elevating the cause of abolition to new prominence. Hall was the first American to publicly use the language of the Declaration of Independence for a political purpose other than justifying war against Britain. In January 1777, just six months after the promulgation of the Declaration and nearly three years before Adams drafted the state constitution, Hall submitted a petition to the Massachusetts legislature (or General Court, as it is styled) requesting emancipation, invoking the resonant phrases and founding truths of the Declaration itself.

Here is what he wrote (I’ve put the echoes of the Declaration of Independence in italics):

The petition of A Great Number of Blackes detained in a State of Slavery in the Bowels of a free & christian Country Humbly shuwith that your Petitioners Apprehend that Thay have in Common with all other men a Natural and Unaliable Right to that freedom which the Grat — Parent of the Unavese hath Bestowed equalley on all menkind and which they have Never forfuted by Any Compact or Agreement whatever — but thay wher Unjustly Dragged by the hand of cruel Power from their Derest frinds and sum of them Even torn from the Embraces of their tender Parents — from A popolous Plasant And plentiful cuntry And in Violation of Laws of Nature and off NationsAnd in defiance of all the tender feelings of humanity Brough hear Either to Be sold Like Beast of Burthen & Like them Condemnd to Slavery for Life.

In this passage, Hall invokes the core concepts of social-contract theory, which grounded the American Revolution, to argue for an extension of the claim to equal rights to those who were enslaved. He acknowledged and adopted the intellectual framework of the new political arrangements, but also pointedly called out the original sin of enslavement itself.

Hall’s memory was vigorously kept alive by members and archivists of the Masonic lodge he founded, and his name can be found in historical references. But his life has attracted fresh attention in recent years from scholars and community leaders, both because he deserves to be widely known and celebrated and because inserting his story into the tale of the country’s founding exemplifies the promise of an integrated way of studying and teaching history. It’s hard enough to shine new light on an African American figure who has been long in the shadows, one who in important ways should be considered an American Founder. It can prove far more difficult to trace an individual’s “relationship tree” and come to understand that person, in a granular and even cinematic way, in the full context of his or her own society: family, school, church, civic organizations, commerce, government. Doing so—especially for figures and communities that have been overlooked—gives us a chance to tell a whole story, to weave together multiple perspectives on the events of our political founding into a single, joined tale. It also provides an opportunity to draw out and emphasize the agency of people who experienced oppression and domination. In the case of Prince Hall, the process of historical reconstruction is still under way.

When I was a girl, I used to ask what there was to know about the experience of being enslaved—and was told by kind and well-meaning teachers that, sadly, the lack of records made the question impossible to answer. In fact, the records were there; we just hadn’t found them yet. Historical evidence often turns up only when one starts to look for it. And history won’t answer questions until one thinks to ask them.

John Adams and Prince Hall would have passed each other on the streets of Boston. They almost certainly were aware of each other. Hall was no minor figure, though his early days and family life are shrouded in some mystery. Probably he was born in Boston in 1735 (not in England or Barbados, as some have suggested). It is possible that he lived for a period as a freeman before he was formally emancipated. He may have been one of the thousands of African Americans who fought in the Continental Army; his son, Primus, certainly was. As a freeman, Hall became for a time a leatherworker, passed through a period of poverty, and then ultimately ran a shop, from which he sold, among other things, his own writings advocating for African American causes. Probably he was not married to every one of the five women in Boston who were married to someone named Prince Hall in the years between 1763 and 1804, but he may have been. Whether he was married to Primus’s mother, a woman named Delia, is also unclear. Between 1780 and 1801, the city’s tax collectors found their way to some 1,184 different Black taxpayers. Prince Hall and his son appear in those tax records for 15 of those 21 years, giving them the longest period of recorded residence in the city of any Black person we know about in that era. The DePaul University historian Chernoh M. Sesay Jr.’s excellent dissertation, completed in 2006, provides the most thorough and rigorously analyzed academic review of Hall’s biography that is currently available. (The dissertation, which I have drawn on here, has not yet been published in full, but I hope it will be.)

Hall was a relentless petitioner, undaunted by setbacks. When Hall submitted his 1777 petition, co-signed by seven other free Black men, to the Massachusetts legislature, he was building on the efforts of other African Americans in the state to abolish enslavement. In 1773 and 1774, African Americans from Bristol and Worcester Counties as well as Boston and its neighboring towns put forward six known petitions and likely more to this end. Hall led the formation of the first Black Masonic lodge in the Americas, and possibly in the world. The purpose of forming the lodge was to provide mutual aid and support and to create an infrastructure for advocacy. Fourteen men joined Hall’s lodge almost surely in 1775, and in the years from then until 1784, records reveal that 51 Black men participated in the lodge. Through the lodge’s history, one can trace a fascinating story of the life of Boston’s free Black community in the final decades of the 18th century.

Why did Hall choose Freemasonry as one of his life’s passions? Alonza Tehuti Evans, a former historian and archivist of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, took up that question in a 2017 lecture. Hall and his fellow lodge members, he explained, recognized that many of the influential people in Boston—and throughout the colonies—were deeply involved in Freemasonry. George Washington is a prominent example, and symbolism that resonates with Masonic meaning adorns the $1 bill to this day. Hall saw entrance into Freemasonry as a pathway to securing influence and a network of supporters.

Hall submitted a petition to the Massachusetts legislature requesting emancipation, invoking the resonant phrases and founding truths of the Declaration of Independence.

In a world without stable passports or identification documents, participation in the order could provide proof of status as a free person. It offered both leverage and legitimacy—as when Prince Hall and members of his lodge, in 1786, offered to raise troops to support the commonwealth in putting down Shays’s Rebellion.

In the winter and spring of 1788, Hall was leading a charge in Boston against enslavers who made a practice of using deception or other means to kidnap free Black people, take them shipboard, and remove them to distant locations, where they would be sold into enslavement. He submitted a petition to the Massachusetts legislature seeking aid—asking legislators to “do us that justice that our present condition requires”—and publicized his petition in newspapers in Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont.

In the summer of that year, a newspaper circulated an extract of a letter from a prominent white Bostonian who had assisted Hall on this very matter. The unnamed author of the letter reports that he had been visited by a group of free Black men who had been kidnapped in Boston and had recently been emancipated and returned to the city. They were escorted to his house by Hall, and they told the story of their emancipation. One of the men who had been kidnapped was a member of Hall’s Masonic lodge. Carried off to the Caribbean and put on the auction block, the kidnapped men found that the merchant to whom they were being offered was himself a Mason. Mutual recognition of a shared participation in Freemasonry put an end to the transaction and gave them the chance to recover their freedom.

Prince Hall’s work on abolition and its enforcement was just the beginning of a lifetime of advocacy. Disillusioned by how hard it was to secure equal rights for free Black men and women in Boston, he submitted a petition to the Massachusetts legislature seeking funds to assist him and other free Blacks in emigrating to Africa. That same year, he also turned his energies to advocating for resources for public education. Through it all, his Masonic membership proved both instrumental and spiritually valuable.

Founding the lodge had not been easy. Although Hall and his fellows were most likely inducted into Freemasonry in 1775, they were never able to secure a formal charter for their lodge from the other lodges in Massachusetts: Prejudice ran strong. Hall and his fellows had in fact probably been inducted by members of an Irish military lodge, planted in Boston with the British army, who had proved willing to introduce them to the mysteries of the order. Hall’s lodge functioned as an unofficial Masonic society—African Lodge No. 1—but received a formal charter only after a request was sent to England for a warrant. The granting of a charter by the Grand Lodge of England finally arrived in 1787.

In seeking this charter, Hall had written to Masons in England, lamenting that lodges in Boston had not permitted him and his fellows a full charter but had granted a permit only to “walk on St John’s Day and Bury our dead in form which we now enjoy.” Hall wanted full privileges, not momentary sufferance. In this small detail, though, we gain a window into just how important even the first steps toward Masonic privileges were. In the years before 1783 and full abolition of enslavement in Massachusetts, Black people in the state were subjected to intensive surveillance and policing, as enslavers sought to keep their human property from slipping away into the world of free Blacks. Membership in the Masons was like a hall pass—an opportunity to have a parade as a community, to come out and step high, without harassment. That’s what it meant to walk on Saint John’s Day—June 24—and to hold funeral parades for the dead.

Whether that stepping-out day remained June 24 is unclear. As Sesay writes, “Boston blacks, including Prince Hall, first applied to use Faneuil Hall in 1789 to hear an ‘African preacher.’ On February 25, 1789, the Selectmen accepted the application of blacks to use Faneuil Hall for ‘public worship.’ ” By 1820, the walk on Saint John’s Day appears to have become African Independence Day and was celebrated on July 14, Bastille Day, much to the displeasure of at least one newspaper. An unattributed column in the New-England Galaxy and Masonic Magazine complained about the annual parade in recognizably racist tones (the mention of “Wilberforce” at the end is a reference to William Wilberforce, the British campaigner against enslavement):

This is the day on which, for unaccountable reasons or for no reasons at all, the Selectmen of Boston, permit the town to be annually disturbed by a mob of negroes … The streets through which this sable procession passes are a scene of noise and confusion, and always will be as long as the thing is tolerated. Quietness and order can hardly be expected, when five or six hundred negroes, with a band of music, pikes, swords, epaulettes, sashes, cocked hats, and standards, are marching through the principal streets. To crown this scene of farce and mummery, a clergyman is mounted in their pulpit to harangue them on the blessings of independence, and to hold up for their admiration the characters of “Masser Wilberforce and Prince Hall.”

Well after Hall’s death, the days for stepping out continued in Boston—an expression of freedom and the claiming of a rightful place in the polity. The lodge that Hall founded continued too. It is the oldest continuously active African American association in the U.S., with chapters now spread around the country. Its work in support of public education has endured. In the 20th century the Prince Hall Freemasons made significant contributions to the NAACP, in many places hosting the first branches of the organization. In the 1950s alone, the group donated more than $400,000 to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (equivalent to millions of dollars today). Thurgood Marshall was a member.

for all of what we now know to be Prince Hall’s importance, I learned of him only recently. In 2015 the National Archives held a conference about the Declaration of Independence, inspired by my own research on the document. At the conference, another colleague presented a paper on how abolitionists had been the first people to make use of the Declaration for political projects other than the Revolution itself. A few months earlier I had come across the passage from Hall’s 1777 petition that I shared above, and that so beautifully resonates with the Declaration; at that conference, I suddenly learned the important political context in which it fit. I had published a book on the Declaration of Independence—Our Declaration—in 2014, but until the spring of 2015, I had never heard of Hall.

Yet I have been studying African American history since childhood. When I was in high school, my school didn’t do anything to celebrate Black History Month. My father encouraged me to take matters into my own hands and propose to the school that I might curate a weekly exhibit on one of the school’s bulletin boards. The school was obliging. It offered me the one available bulletin board—in a dark corner in the farthest remove of the school’s quads. This was not the result of malice, just of a lack of attention to the stakes. But I was glad to have access to that bulletin board, and I dutifully filled it with pictures of people like Carter G. Woodson and Mary McLeod Bethune and Thurgood Marshall, and with excerpts from their writings.

I am deeply aware of how much historical treasure about Black America is hidden, and have been actively trying to seek it out. While I was on the faculty of the University of Chicago, I helped found the Black Metropolis Research Consortium, a network of archival organizations in Chicago dedicated to connecting “all who seek to document, share, understand and preserve Black experiences.” And while I was at Chicago—somewhat in the spirit of that old bulletin board—I curated an exhibit for the special-collections department of the campus library on the 45 African Americans who’d earned a doctorate at the university prior to 1940—the largest number of doctorates awarded to African Americans up to that time by any institution in the world. Even so, I had not known about Prince Hall.

Having discovered Hall at the ridiculous age of 43, I have since made it a mission to teach others about him. At Harvard’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, we have undertaken a major initiative to develop civic-education curricula and resources. Among the largest projects is a year-long eighth-grade course called “Civic Engagement in Our Democracy.” One of the units in that course is centered on Hall’s life. Through him and his exploration of the meaning of social contracts and natural rights, and of opportunity and equality, we teach the philosophical foundations of democracy, reaching through Hall to texts that he also drew on, and whose authors are required reading for eighth graders in Massachusetts—for instance, Aristotle, Locke, and Montesquieu. These writers and thinkers were important figures to Freemasons in Hall’s time.

Too much treasure remains buried, living mainly in oral histories, not yet integrated into our full shared history of record. That history can strike home in unexpected ways. Not long ago, I was talking with my father about Prince Hall and the curriculum we were developing. His ears pricked up. Only then did I learn that my grandfather, too, had been a member of the Prince Hall Freemasons.”

This article appears in the March 2021 print edition with the headline “A Forgotten Founder.”

DANIELLE ALLEN is a political philosopher and the James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard. She is the author of Talking to Strangers, Our Declaration, and Cuz.