Full-length portrait of Jim Steward, an African American man ventriloquist, seated on a wooden chair. Steward, attired in a disheveled sack coat, holds his cat puppet in his lap and looks at the viewer., Date from manuscript note., Fifteen cent Civil War revenue stamp lower right corner of mount with manuscript note: W.L. April 1st, 1865., Purchase 1993., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., See Graphic Arts Department Langeheim research file for 1860s-1890s newspaper columns referencing tale about Jim Steward and/or Rocky Mountain cat., Langenheim was a premier early Philadelphia photographer who with his brother and partner Frederick (1809-1879) introduced lantern slides (glass transparencies) to the United States in 1849.
Creator
Langenheim, William, 1807-1874, photographer
Date
[ca. 1865]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Lantern slides - Langenheim [P.9439]
Full-length portrait of the formerly enslaved African American performer, attired in a Union uniform. He stands facing the viewer, holding his cap in his left hand and with his right hand tucked inside his sack coat. Found homeless in 1862 in Chambersburg, Pa. by promoter Robert Criswell, the "Human Organ" imitated the organ, any sound, and sang plantation songs during exhibitions in the North, including New York City and Philadelphia., Article about Sawnee published in Franklin repository, January 27, 1864 (Chambersburg, Pa.), p. 5., Accessioned 1982., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
[ca. 1863]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department cdv portraits - sitter - Sawnee [P.8925.2]
Full-length portrait of the formerly enslaved African American performer, attired in a Union uniform. He holds his hat with his left hand and tucks his right hand into his sack coat while leaning against a chair. Found homeless in 1862 in Chambersburg, Pa. by promoter Robert Criswell, the "Human Organ" imitated the organ, any sound, and sang plantation songs during exhibitions in the North, including New York City and Philadelphia., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Unmounted carte-de-visite., Article about Sawnee published in Franklin repository, January 27, 1864 (Chambersburg, Pa.), p. 5., Accessioned 1982., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
[ca. 1863]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department cdv portraits - sitter - Sawnee [P.8925.3]
