[African Americana]. [North Carolina]

[Small Vernacular Photograph Album Featuring African American Men and Women in High Point, North Carolina, Along with an Interesting Handbill for an Event Featuring Professor Will Lindsay]

[High Point, N.C. ca. 1880-1910]. Six leaves, illustrated with two small tintypes and eleven photographs on paper, plus two ephemeral items pasted in. Contemporary brown padded cloth over boards, metal fore-edge clasp. Spine perished, corners worn. One photograph chipped, moderate wear to remainder, a few faded. Good. Item #3580

A mysterious but absorbing surviving record of a handful of African American men and women who all presumably lived in or near High Point, North Carolina in the late-19th and early-20th century. Two photographs and one ephemeral item all indicate High Point as their location of origin. Specifically, the photographs are stamped "C.W. Rochelle Photographer High Point N.C." and "Rochelle & Utley High Point N.C." respectively. C.W. Rochelle operated a photographic studio on Washington and College streets in High Point, North Carolina for almost forty years before he died of a heart attack in early 1913. The ephemeral item relating to High Point is a handbill touting a "Special" presentation by Professor Will Lindsay at the First Baptist Church in High Point. The show promised to be "his final Entertainment in High Point. The grandest ever witnessed." Lindsay was apparently a singer whose "Musicale" was to be followed by the rewarding of fifteen presents to those "holding lucky numbers."

The photographs in the present album are all simple portraits, a few of which are either annotated on the verso or identified on the album leaves below the pictures. For example, one real photo postcard of a young woman identifes her on the verso as "Lubirtha Robbins." Another photograph taken in Winston, North Carolina is identified on the album leaf as "Mother." The photograph next to her, featuring a young man in a sideways fedora is captioned, "Charlie Card."

A small but important record of an unidentified group of African American men and women centered around High Point, North Carolina over a century ago.

Price: $650.00