Anti-slavery illustrated cover. N.p., circa 1861. 5 5/8 x 3 1/8 in. 

A rare anti-slavery illustrated cover with an early depiction of and use of the term "contraband," referencing self-emancipated slaves who fled to Union lines during the Civil War. 

At left, a group of slaves is toiling in the fields, guarded by a whip-wielding overseer shouting, "Come back here, you black rascal," as several enslaved individuals run for Fort Monroe at the far right. One man looks back and taunts (in vernacular): "Can't come back nohow, massa; Dis chile's CONTRABAN'."  

The depiction of Fort Monroe is significant, as it was General Benjamin Butler's headquarters where he first conceived and enacted what became the Union's "contraband policy." On 27 May 1861, he announced that his troops would not enforce the Fugitive Slave Act. Butler, a lawyer by trade, argued that Virginia's secession meant that escaped slaves, under international law, were "contraband of war," and he was not required to return them to their former owners.

A similar lithograph cartoon version of the scene with the same dialogue (held at the Library of Congress, PC/US - 1861.A000, no. 40 (B size) [P&P]) is titled "The (Fort) Monroe Doctrine." 

RARE. Two copies are held institutionally (Massachusetts Historical Society, Wisconsin Historical Society). 

[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [African Americana, African American History, Black History, Slavery, Enslavement, Abolition, Emancipation]  [Manuscripts, Documents, Letters, Ephemera, Signatures, Autographs] [Postal History, Covers, Philately]

Postally unused. Minor even toning. Otherwise crisp.