The slave owner writes that he’s “of the opinion that it is my duty to do by others, as I would be done by.”
This document dates from 1817. It grants freedom to a 25-year-old slave named Moses.
The document pre-dates Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation by more than 30 years.
The slave's owner, Oswald Ricks of Virginia, gives as a reason that he should "do unto others as I would be done by." The auction will take place in Gloucestershire and will be run by auctioneers Dominic Winter in Cirencester.
