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(SLAVERY AND ABOLITION—PHOTOGRAPHY.)
Carte-de-visite pho-
tograph of “Tom,” very likely a captured runaway.
Tom (in pencil on the reverse) is
shown standing, with arms folded. There is some mottling to the lower third of the photo-
graph, more visible in raking light, but otherwise a good, clear image.
Np, circa early 1860’s
[1,500/2,500]
There is little question that this poor soul had been beaten. The photo might possibly have been taken
by his owner, or perhaps by his captor, to be sent to another person for identification. His feet are cov-
ered with dried mud; both his eyes are swollen, the left eye one almost closed; there is a bruise at the
hairline above that eye; his mouth is partly open, his teeth mostly gone. Photographs like this conjure
up all manner of stories and explanations. Unfortunately, we will never really know for certain who
“Tom” was or what the circumstances of this photograph might have been.
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●
(SLAVERY AND ABOLITION—PHOTOGRAPHY.)
Runaway slave woman
(supplied title).
Carte-de-visite photograph of a woman wrapped in rags, possibly made
from a couple of feed bags.
Troy, NY: Minor B. King, circa 1859-65
[800/1,200]
LIKE THE MAN IN THE PREVIOUS PHOTOGRAPH
,
THIS WOMAN COULD VERY POSSIBLY BE A
RUNAWAY
.
She is wearing a hastily made cover for her otherwise naked body; there appears to be an
abrasion beneath her left knee, and her expression is one of resignation and sadness.
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