Metals
John Joseph Lafar (Maker)
Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina, South, United States, North America
1819
Copper
1977.0152
Object Number1977.0152 |
Badge or Tax Badge (Slave badge)
Metals
Gift of Mrs. Samuel Schwartz
John Joseph Lafar (Maker)
1781-1849
Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina, South, United States, North America
1819
1. Mark; Reverse; "LAFAR" stamped in a serrated rectangle.
2. Inscription; Surface, upper; "CHARLESTON" stamped in an arc-shaped banner flanked by a star at each end
3. Inscription; Surface, center; "N-/o" stamped in a rectangle and "78" stamped incuse
4. Inscription; Surface, lower; "FISHER" stamped in a rectangle
5. Inscription; Surface, lower; "1819" stamped in a rectangle
Maritime
Copper
2.126 (H) , 2.244 (W)
5.4 (H) , 5.7 (W)
Charleston, South Carolina, and several other urban areas in the United States, mandated that enslaved people wear tax badges when they were hired out to work or for permitted self-employment activities. The badge indicated that the owner had paid a tax to the city. Such urban tax and badge practices arose among free citizens as a means for controlling enslaved laborers while protecting opportunities for free laborers. This copper sheet was stamped with the word "FISHER" and "1819" to regulate an enslaved fisherman for work in Charleston's fisheries during that year.
[Book] Fennimore, Donald L. 1996 Metalwork in Early America: Copper and Its Alloys from the Winterthur Collection.
• Published: cat.223, p.332