NEW YORK CITY — An archive documenting the records of the Dickinson & Shrewsbury salt work, including extensive slave labor correspondence, led Swann Auction Galleries’ September 26 sale of Printed and Manuscript Americana when it sold for $173,000. The lot, which had been estimated at $80-120,000, was purchased by a trade buyer bidding on the telephone. According to Rick Stattler, director of Swann Auction Galleries’ book department, “This archive is unusual because it documents a large industrial operation which relied on slave labor. Many dozens of individuals can be traced over the decades through correspondence, lists, and receipts. The plant’s numerous connections to Booker T. Washington, who lived near the salt works after abolition, give it even greater historical significance; his stepfather appears several times in the records.” Watch for a full review in a future issue.