Letter from Christopher Scott to Nathan Nield, December 31, 1792
Brown University Library, Special Collections
This piece of paper, sent from Christopher Scott of Petersburg to Nathan Nield of Mercer County, served as both letter and, when folded, as envelope, with a red wax seal.
Known today as “slave carried mail,” this letter was carried by “a Negro woman Murier” and contains information about an exchange of Murier for another enslaved female named Christian.
The Library invites you to parse the contents of the letter. What does this artifact tell us about the history of the country? Of commerce in the U.S.? What does it tell us about the struggles women have faced as well as the fraught nature of relationships? Why is preserving items like this so important to contemporary research?
Dates: October 2 – 31, 2018
Time: John Hay Library Hours
Location: Second Floor Landing, John Hay Library, 20 Prospect Street, Providence