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Carte-de-visite portrait of Harriet Tubman

National Museum of African American History and Culture

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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 body 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
1868-1869
Object number
2017.30.47
Restrictions & Rights
Public domain
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
Media Arts-Photography
Movement
Abolitionist movement
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
Record ID
nmaahc_2017.30.47
Usage of Metadata (Object Detail Text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5c1fe9caa-2405-4c5f-ae98-e33ce83b5f30
This image 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.
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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