The collection depicts the enslavement of persons of African descent, primarily in the United States, from the early 1800s to the mid-1860s. The collection consists mainly of photographic reproductions of illustrations, paintings, photographs, documents, artifacts and printed texts, drawn from original sources in the Schomburg Center, and from the Milton Meltzer research collection. Also includes plates from various publications. Included are images depicting the slave trade, including the Middle Passage and slave auctions; slave labor; portraits of abolitionists and political figures; and activities pertaining to the anti-slavery movement.
