The art of slavery on banknotes

gsalex

There's a very interesting exhibit that just opened at SUNY Plattsburgh. A South Carolina artist has been re-envisioning banknote engravings of slavery as paintings. It's eye-opening to see some of these images in color and definitely changes your perception.

The Color of Money

Tookybandit

Interesting!

DepressionscripGuy

Very interesting.

Heywood

(The Note is altered from Bank of Greensborough, Ga)

techwriter

Hmmmm, never used a basket and never did much smiling and at least I had some gloves.

johnny9434

very interesting.

STLNATS

(The Note is altered from Bank of Greensborough, Ga)



Took me a minute to see your notation. Wasn't aware of cotton fields in the wilds of Connecticut so at first thought this was an odd vignette to be used in the northeast.



Both of these notes are interesting, not to mention sad, commentaries of the time in any case.

Heywood

One of the interesting(?) things about the first painting is how through subtle changes, there is a completely different take away.

The man has a beard (more menacing?) and is glaring at the woman

The horse switch, has become a whip and combined with his stare makes it more threatening.

The woman also appears glancing with some trepidation.

The early vignette makers were usually just representing contemporary scenes, the man could very well be representing another farm worker watering the horse, but the new version (to me) implies a different relationship.

Tookybandit

STLNATS

+1 Heywood



Exactly my first impression. The paintings are thought provoking for sure but seem to offer a very "modern" point of view that may or may not be an accurate reflection of what was in the engraver's mind or that of contemporaries.



Similarly my first impression of the painting of the man with the basket of cotton was a turn of the century ad for laundry soap or a like product. I wish the entire exhibit was online because the paintings do indeed make one think about what was behind the vignettes vs how we collectors interpret them.

TigerTrader

Originally posted by: Tookybandit

Same here...





I thought the first one certainly had an element of "Propaganda" to it. Although I am in no way shape or form condoning slavery or discrediting the atrocities that occurred...





I really like the second one. It just brings it to life...

techwriter

Upon closer examination it would seem that the vignette in the OP note doesn’t seem to match the notes in Bowers’ Obsolete Paper Money, Volume 6, pg 346

The note in the OP with the vignette shown is W-NC-540-003-G010 and DOES NOT have the Red THREE overprint.

The Red THREE overprint appears on W-NC-540-003-G010a and the vignette on that note is thus:

==



==

So the question: is the OPs note a "discovery" or something else?

Heywood

Originally posted by: techwriter
Upon closer examination it would seem that the vignette in the OP note doesn’t seem to match the notes in Bowers’ Obsolete Paper Money, Volume 6, pg 346
The note in the OP with the vignette shown is W-NC-540-003-G010 and DOES NOT have the Red THREE overprint.
The Red THREE overprint appears on W-NC-540-003-G010a and the vignette on that note is thus:
==

==
So the question: is the OPs note a "discovery" or something else?

I am not clear on why you are saying the vignettes do not match. They match the Haxby plates, and the Bowers. beside the Overprint what is different?

techwriter

Heywood, seems upon CLOSER examination they are same; I thought

there was a difference in what was in the left hand of the person on the log. Old eyes

need more help. Sorry.

I do think, however, the artist took a bit of license with the object in his right hand as original doesn't look to be the whip in the painting.