Black portrait photograph collection
Scope and Contents
The Black portrait photograph collection contains portrait photographs of individuals and groups, who are likely African American or part of the Black diaspora. Many of the photographers, sitters, and settings of these photographs have yet to be identified. Dates are derived from the method of photography and aspects of the dress of the sitters. In some cases, more precise dates have been assigned based on research into the photography studio or individual subject of the photograph.
Many of the portraits in accession 2021-0016 (found in boxes 1 and 3) are inscribed in the same hand and were created at photographic studios in Texas; it is uncertain whether all the photographs from this accession originate from the same family.
Though the identity of many of the sitters is unknown, the attire and accessories of many of them suggest their belonging to an educated middle class. Other sitters appear to be wearing the attire of their professional occupations. The use of props such as backdrops, rugs, and posing chairs signal that the photographs were likely created in photography studios.
Photographs are arranged by format.
Dates
- Creation: circa 1860-1920s
Access Information
The collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections Department, University of Delaware Library, https://library.udel.edu/static/purl.php?askspec
Biographical / Historical
The Black portrait photograph collection consists of photographs acquired from various sources by the University of Delaware Library. There is little and sometimes no information about the provenance of these photographs or the individuals depicted in them.
In spring 2021 and fall 2023, students at the University of Delaware in the course AFRA 647: Curating Hidden Collections and the Black Archive studied the photographs and created metadata for the digital collection. This was a continuation of work done with the Baltimore Collection by the fall 2017 Curating Hidden Collections class. The students' work, including essays with supplemental research and reflections on individual photographs, is documented at the following site: https://sites.udel.edu/baltimorecollection/.
Extent
1 linear foot (3 boxes)
1 oversize box
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Black portrait photograph collection contains portraits of Black individuals and groups, collected from various sources by the University of Delaware Library. The photographers, sitters, and settings of these photographs are unidentified, unless otherwise noted.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Various purchases, 2019-2022.
Photographs in box 1, F1-3 are accession 2019-0121.
Photographs in box 1, F4 are accession 2020-0015.
The photograph in box 2, F1 is accession 2020-0040.
The photograph in box 2, F2 is accession 2021-0018.
Photographs in box 1, F5-12, and box 3, F1-3, are from accession 2021-0016.
The photograph in box 4 is from accession 2022-0080.
Accruals
Additional photographs may be added to this collection in the future.
Materials Available in Alternative Format
Digitized versions of the materials in this collection are available in the University of Delaware Digital Collections.
Rights Statement
The text of this web page can be reused and modified under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Shelving Summary
Box 1: Shelved in SPEC MSS manuscript boxes (upright mss)
Box 2: Shelved in SPEC MSS oversize boxes (20 inches)
Box 3: Shelved in SPEC MSS manuscript boxes (upright mss)
Box 4: Shelved in SPEC MSS manuscript boxes
Processing Information
Processed and encoded by Kit Fluker in 2020, 2021, and 2023. This finding aid incorporates descriptive information created by the spring 2021 section of Curating Hidden Collections and the Black Archive: Danielle Bing, Thomas Busciglio-Ritter, LaStarsha McGarity, TK Smith, Daniella Statia, and Darbyshire Witek. Students in the fall 2023 section of Curating Hidden Collections contributed metadata for photographs in accessions 2021-0016 and 2022-0080.
Anyone with information regarding the identities of the individuals in the photographs is encouraged to contact the Special Collections department at: https://library.udel.edu/static/purl.php?askspec.
- Title
- Finding aid for the Black portrait photograph collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- University of Delaware Library, Special Collections.
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2023 July 19: Finding aid was revised with the additions of accessions 2021-0016 and 2022-0080.
- 2023 November 28: Finding aid was revised to update individual photographic metadata based on student-created descriptions.
- 2023 December 21: Finding aid front matter was revised to document student work.
Repository Details
Part of the University of Delaware Library Special Collections Repository