Subject: Southern United States

Single-page printed bill of sale documenting the sale of three enslaved individuals—Fanny and her two children, Martha and William—for $575, and Sally for $425. The seller, Solomon Davis, a Jewish slave dealer from Richmond, Virginia, filled out and signed the document on February 12, 1848. The buyer was Thomas R. Williams. The sale took place in Charleston, South Carolina. This document highlights the involvement of Jewish individuals in the American slave trade.

A business letter dated September 1851, written by Felix Kahn in Nashville, Tennessee, to L. Mayer & Co. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The letter details an order for dry goods, including ginghams, tablecloths, spoons, razors, handkerchiefs, and stockings. Kahn requests prompt shipment and specifies the desired assortment and pricing. The letter provides insights into commercial transactions and the dry goods trade in the mid-19th century United States.

This collection comprises eleven business letters written by the textile merchant firm Elias & Cohen of Charlotte, North Carolina, between October 5, 1887, and April 12, 1888. The letters, written on illustrated letterhead showcasing their establishment, are primarily orders for sheeting to be sent to various customers. Two letters are addressed to Samuel Friedheim in Fort Lawn, South Carolina. The letters offer insight into the business practices and operations of a Jewish mercantile firm in the late 19th century American South. The letters are housed in Arc.MS.56, Box 14, Folder 5.

A commercial letter dated June 6, 1884, sent from Menken Brothers in Memphis, Tennessee to the Eagle & Phenix Manufacturing Co. in Columbus, Georgia. The letter displays elaborate letterhead featuring a vignette. The content pertains to business matters. This letter is part of a larger collection spanning from 1864, showcasing the growth of the Menken Brothers' business.

Daily diary of Stella Hirsch, residing at 320 Poplar Street, Memphis, Tennessee, spanning from January 1, 1896, to December 31, 1896. The diary contains brief daily entries, noting the High Holidays. Stella Hirsch is identified as the daughter of Simon Hirsch, a prosperous distiller. The diary offers insights into the daily life of a well-to-do Southern Jewish family during 1896.

A business letter dated August 25, 1885, from A. Lehmann & Co. in New Orleans, Louisiana, to the Eagle & Phenix Manufacturing Co. in Columbus, Georgia. The letter concerns the transmittal of funds. The letterhead features a large lithograph of a store.

A single-page business letter written by Jewish merchant Abraham Minis in Savannah, Georgia on October 20, 1845, to I. T. Tobias, a New York merchant. Minis discusses slow business, anticipates increased activity, and requests Tobias's attention to consignments, specifically regarding the import of champagne.

Letter from District Grand Lodge No. 7 of the B'nai B'rith to its members, dated May 27, 1889, in Memphis, Tennessee. The letter includes minutes from a convention held in New Orleans and notification of a move of the headquarters. It lists approximately 40 officers' names, primarily from Southern states.

A one-page letter written by Horace E. Baldwin in Charleston, South Carolina, to Charles Tobias in New Orleans, Louisiana, on March 11, 1851. Baldwin discusses a visit to New Orleans with his sister Mary, his travels to New York City after visiting Cuba, and requests that Tobias hold a $1,000 note for two months. Baldwin was a partner in the firm Taylor, Baldwin and Co. in Newark, New Jersey, before moving to New Orleans in 1842, and appears to have remained there until 1853.

A three-and-a-half-page letter written by J. Hamilton Criper near Darien, Georgia, to Francis P. Cubin on October 4, 1855. The letter discusses the sale of slaves and mentions Jacob Cohen, a prominent slave dealer in Charleston, South Carolina, who appraised the slaves. The letter highlights Cohen's significant role in the slave trade.

This letter, dated November 4, 1886, was sent from Jake W. Levy & Bro. in Sherman, Texas to the Eagle & Phenix Manufacturing Co. in Columbus, Georgia. The letter concerns a transmittal of payment.

A letter dated December 10, 1886, from Lehman, Stern & Co. (successors to Lehman, Abraham & Co.) in Sumter, South Carolina, to Altamont Moses. The letter discusses funds and references Lehman Brothers in New York City and Lehman, Durr & Co. in Montgomery, Alabama. The letterhead indicates the company's address as Corner Gravier & Baronne Sts., Sumter, South Carolina.

A commercial letter dated May 4, 1885, from Lehman, Stern & Co. (Successors to Lehman, Abraham & Co.) in New Orleans, Louisiana, to the Eagle & Phenix Manufacturing Co. in Columbus, Georgia. The letter discusses funds and mentions Lehman Bros. in New York City and Lehman, Durr & Co. in Montgomery, Alabama.

A half-sheet letter from Lemle & Weil, wholesale and retail dealers in dry goods, hats, boots, shoes, clothing, and men's furnishings, located in Opelika, Alabama. The letter is dated February 4, 1884, and addressed to G. Gunby Jordan. The letterhead features the company's name and a description of its merchandise.

A business letter dated August 22, 1885, from M. Levy & Sons, cotton factors and merchants in New Orleans, Louisiana, to the Eagle & Phenix Manufacturing Co. in Columbus, Georgia. The letter pertains to a cotton order.

A commercial letter dated June 8, 1885, from M. Levy & Sons in New Orleans, Louisiana, to the Eagle & Phenix Manufacturing Company in Columbus, Georgia. The letter concerns funds.

A letter written by Michael Lazarus of Charleston, South Carolina, to Shubael Hutchins in Providence, Rhode Island, on May 7, 1845. Written from Savannah, Georgia, the letter discusses a shipment of damaged cotton, Lazarus's involvement in cotton presses, and the use of steamers on the Savannah River. The letter includes details about cotton prices and the challenges faced by planters due to drought.

Letter written by Michael Lazarus to Shubael Hutchins in Providence, Rhode Island, on July 30, 1846, from Charleston, South Carolina. Lazarus expresses disappointment with the price Hutchins received for selling cotton and discusses current market prices.

A business letter dated March 29, 1884, from Rosenthal Bros., wholesale clothiers located at 70 Canal Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, to the Eagle & Phenix Manufacturing Co. in Columbus, Georgia. The letter includes banking instructions.

Five-page letter written by S. Wolff of Mobile, Alabama, to Isaac Leeser of Philadelphia on April 21, 1848, detailing the suicides of E.L. Andrews in Mobile and his brother Z. Andrews in New Orleans. The letter describes the financial collapse of E.L. Andrews' firm due to the cotton market and the circumstances surrounding the suicides. The letter also mentions societal prejudices against Jews in Mobile.

A business letter dated February 14, 1891, sent from Simon & Kohn in New Orleans, Louisiana to J. Z. Hearst in Richmond, Alabama. The letter, written in English, is accompanied by an envelope. The letterhead features a corner address for Simon & Kohn at the corner of Magazine and Canal Street in New Orleans, and the envelope shows a good quality lithograph.

A commercial letter written by Simon Lewy in Eufaula, Alabama, to Alfred I. Young on October 26, 1886, concerning an order for cloth from the Red Cash Store, successor to S. Waxelbaum. The letter references business transactions and the clothing trade.

Postcard advertisement sent from a sales representative of the Southern Agricultural Works (Elias Haiman, Atlanta, Georgia) in Little Rock, Arkansas, on January 29, 1883. The advertisement details the company's products, including cast and wrought iron plows, steel plows, steel blades, cotton gins, and cotton warehouse trucks. It highlights the Elias Haiman chilled plow as a specialty and describes the company's large manufacturing plant and workforce. The postcard also includes biographical information about Elias Haiman, president of the company, and S. Landauer, secretary and treasurer. Additional background is given on the Haiman family's history in the manufacturing business, including their involvement in a sword factory during the Civil War and subsequent patents obtained by Elias Haiman and Eugene Rosenbaum for farming implements.

This professionally rebound hardcover book, published in 1872 by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C., contains the report of the Joint Select Committee to Inquire into the Condition of Affairs in the Late Insurrectionary States. The report, made to the two Houses of Congress on February 19, 1872, and ordered to be printed, details investigations into post-Civil War violence and conditions in Southern states. The first hundred pages focus extensively on Ku Klux Klan activities, including violence and threats. The book also includes state-by-state reports on the treatment of African Americans in the years immediately following the Civil War. This is a first printing; the complete report was eventually published in 15 volumes, but this volume stands alone. The report may contain information related to Samuel Fleishman, either his report or details of his murder by the KKK.

Sheet music for "Mary Belle Polka" composed by E. Levy and dedicated to Miss Mary Belle Patterson, daughter of Senator Patterson of Tennessee. Published in Memphis, Tennessee in 1868. Entered according to the Acts of Congress AD 1868 by Lee & Walker. The piece consists of five pages. Additional information from the archival description indicates that E. Levy was associated with E. Witzmann & Co., a Memphis music store that published music and sold musical instruments.