b'This letter written by Nathaniel Russell in 1768 reveals2019 Acquisitionsthe extent to which he was involved in the slave trade.Letter from Nathaniel Russell to William and Samuel Vernon, Charleston, SC to Newport, RI, 1768. This one-page folded letter dated May 1, 1768 was sent by a transplanted Northern slave merchant in South Carolina offering assistance to the captain of a slave ship owned by New England slave traders who had established Newport, Rhode Island, as the capital of the American triangular trade. This significant acquisition strengthens what we know about Russells involvement in the slave trade and proves his ties were well established as a young man, perhaps even before he moved to Charleston. Historic Charleston Foundation purchase.2019 ANNUAL REPORT HISTORIC CHARLESTON FOUNDATIONLoansSacred Bird & Butterfly Chinese Export Porcelain, 1800. The sacred bird & butterfly pattern, hand-painted in Canton circa 1800, has a long association with Historic Charleston Foundation, and this is certainly the finest example associated with a16Charleston family. The Nathaniel Russell House collection was generously augmented with the long-term loan of this Chinese export porcelain from the Hastie Family. Thomas Sully, American (born in England), 1783-1872, Gypsy Woman and Child, after Murillo, 1859, oil on canvas. This oil painting represents one of over two thousand portraits painted by Thomas Sully (1783-1872), a prolific American portrait artist of the nineteenth century.In addition to spending his formative years in Charleston, Sully returned in 1841 and 1845 completing thirty-nine portraits of various Charlestonians including Adele Petigru Allston, a former resident of the Nathaniel Russell House, and Charles Izard Manigault. On loan from Philadelphia Museum of Art: The W. P. Wilstach Collection, bequest of Anna H. Wilstach, 1893.'