$3,000
Estimate: $1,200 - $1,800
The Collection of Victor Niederhoffer, Part III
Auction: January 30, 2020 10:00:00 AM EDT
(Philadelphia), October 26, 1799. 4 3/4 x 8 1/4 in. (121 x 212 mm). Receipt for work performed by Allen for the Pennsylvania Hospital, “sweeping Chimney.” Allen presented this bill to the hospital and signed it at bottom, “Richard Allen.” The top portion of the document detailing the charges is possibly also in Allen’s hand. Scattered spotting, light to moderate horizontal center crease. In frame with modern bust portrait of Allen.
Richard Allen (1760-1831) was an influential African American leader who founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the first independent African-American denomination, in Philadelphia in 1794. During the yellow-fever epidemic of 1793, Allen was one of the leaders who rallied the black population to aid in nursing the sick and burying the dead.