Carte-de-visite portrait of Harriet Tubman

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