On view

Photography

Album of abolitionist cartes-de-visites,

ca. 1856–64

John White Hurn, 1823–1887; born Norwich, United Kingdom; died Vineland, NJ; active Philadelphia, PA
2018-5 a-dd

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwhat iiiiiiiiiiiis aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaabolition? not only tttttttttttttttttttttto act but, failing, tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttto listen on loop to allow ththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththe bodymind to move toward what is hard land. bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbackbreaking attention to the three different hues of yellow on this Eastern Tiger SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SSwallowtail. an album is a fruit bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbearing seeds. what seeds for abolition does stuttering bear?

Jerome Ellis, poet, musician, artist, and proud stutterer

Author’s note: I want to thank my wife, Luísa Black Ellis, for listening to me read this text aloud to her. The repeated letters show which syllables I stuttered on, and the relative duration of those stutters.

More Context

<p>This album presents a collection of twenty-six photographs, including iconic images of leaders of the American abolitionist movement. These are cartes de visite, photographs printed at a standard size and mounted on cards in a form that allowed individuals to collect and trade images of both friends and celebrities. In this album, as was typical of the era, photographs of the family and friends of the album’s original owner share pages with images of political figures, including Abraham Lincoln, Sojourner Truth, and Frederick Douglass, as well as important individuals in the abolitionist movement and anti-slavery leaders, such as William Lloyd Garrison, Lucretia Mott, Salmon P. Chase, Anna E. Dickinson, Wendell Phillips, Theodore Tilton, and George Truman. The majority of these images were taken by the Philadelphia photographer John White Hurn, and it is plausible that this album was put together in that city. While we have no further clues about the album owner’s identity, they seem to have held strong anti-slavery sentiments. </p>

Information

Title
Album of abolitionist cartes-de-visites
Dates

ca. 1856–64

Medium
Bound album with twenty-six cartes-de-visites
Dimensions
image: 10.2 × 6.3 cm (4 × 2 1/2 in.) album closed: 16.5 × 12.7 × 4.1 cm (6 1/2 × 5 × 1 5/8 in.) mount (Proposed book cradle): 18.4 × 15.9 × 19.4 cm (7 1/4 × 6 1/4 × 7 5/8 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, Fowler McCormick, Class of 1921, Fund
Object Number
2018-5 a-dd
Place Made

North America, United States, Pennsylvania, possibly Philadelphia

Culture
Techniques

[Heritage Auctions]; purchased by [William Reese Company, New Temple, CT], 2017; purchased by the Princeton University Art Museum, 2018.