Every year Swann Galleries trains its focus on the African-American experience. This year’s sale of printed and manuscript material features over 550 items, with sections devoted to slavery and abolition, civil rights, black power, history, music and literature—everything from a photograph of Tuskegee Airmen (est. $2,000-$3,000), to a pair of slave manacles ($2500-$3500), to an Ivory elephant tusk recovered from the wreck of a 16th century slave ship (est. $8000-$12,000).The highlight of the March 1st auction, however, is the papers of Dorothy Porter Wesley (1905-1995), a librarian credited with developing Howard University’s library of black history and culture. It’s expected to realize $50,000-$75,000.
