[Three-quarter length portrait of an African American woman posed with book]

Archive record

1 photographic print on cabinet card ; 16.5 x 11 cm.

About this photograph

A woman sits for a formal studio portrait, holding a book. The photograph is printed on a cabinet card, a popular format of the 1880s measuring roughly four by six inches.

The archive record does not name the sitter. In this period, Black sitters were routinely left unidentified in catalogue records while white sitters were named, a pattern that reflected the priorities and biases of institutional record-keeping rather than the importance of the subjects themselves.

Studio portraiture held particular significance in African American communities during this era. At a time when published images of Black Americans were dominated by caricature, sitting for a formal portrait represented a deliberate assertion of dignity and social standing. Black-owned studios operated in many cities to serve clients whom white studios often refused or treated dismissively.

Compiled from the catalogue record and reference notes on the formats and events involved. The archive record above is the primary source.

About the format

Rights & Attribution

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