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Carte-de-visite portrait of Harriet Tubman

African American Museum

This media is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Open Access page.
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    Object Details

    Photograph by

    Benjamin F. Powelson, American, 1823 - 1885

    Subject of

    Harriet Tubman, American, 1822 - 1913

    Owned by

    Emily Howland, American, 1827 - 1929

    Description

    A carte-de-visite of Harriet Tubman seated in an interior room. She is positioned slightly turned to the right and gazes off camera. Her right hand rests on the back of a wooden chair and her left hand rests in her lap. A boldly patterned carpet covers the floor and the wall or drop behind her is a blank light color. Tubman wears a black bodice that buttons at the center front and has dropped sleeves with heavy ruching and ruffled details on the sleeves. There is a panel of lighter fabric around the yoke, with the upper neck the same dark color as the body of the bodice. A white lace collar with short tails is crossed and pinned at the front of her neck. Her hair is parted at the center and gathered at the nape of her neck. Tubman's full skirt is made from a light and dark patterned gingham check. It drapes slightly on the floor and hides her feet completely. The text "Harriet Tubman" is handwritten in graphite across the bottom of her skirt. The print is mounted on card stock and a double-lined red border is printed around the front edges of the card framing the print.
    The photograph is housed in the album 2017.30. The album page has a triple-lined, gold border framing the print. Handwritten in graphite in the lower left corner of the album page with this photograph is the text "Powelson photog. / Auburn Ny".

    Credit Line

    Collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture shared with the Library of Congress

    Date

    1868-1869

    Object number

    2017.30.47

    Restrictions & Rights

    Public domain
    Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

    Type

    cartes-de-visite
    albumen prints
    portraits

    Medium

    albumen and silver on photographic paper on card mount

    Dimensions

    H x W (Image): 3 11/16 × 2 1/4 in. (9.4 × 5.7 cm)
    H x W (Image and Mount): 3 15/16 × 2 7/16 in. (10 × 6.2 cm)

    Place captured

    Auburn, Cayuga County, New York, United States, North and Central America

    See more items in

    National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

    Collection title

    Emily Howland Photograph Album

    Classification

    Slavery and Freedom Objects
    Photographs and Still Images

    Movement

    Abolitionist movement

    Data Source

    National Museum of African American History and Culture

    Topic

    African American
    Antislavery
    Freedom
    Photography
    Reconstruction, U.S. History, 1865-1877
    Slavery
    U.S. History, Civil War, 1861-1865

    Metadata Usage

    CC0

    Link to Original Record

    http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5c1fe9caa-2405-4c5f-ae98-e33ce83b5f30

    Record ID

    nmaahc_2017.30.47

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