We uses pears soap fo' de complexun
Title
We uses pears soap fo' de complexun
Description
Racist scene depicting three young African American girls in summer dresses sitting on a fence inscribed with chalk in the vernacular, "We Uses Pears Soap fo' de Complexun." The girl in the left, attired in a long-sleeved, cotton dress and shoes, sits with her left hand on her knee and her right hand on her lap. In the middle, the barefooted girl, attired in a striped, long-sleeved cotton dress, smiles with her feet crossed and resting her hands on her lap. In the right, the girl, wearing long, curly hair and attired in a long-sleeved cotton dress with fraying at the bottom, striped stockings, and shoes, rests her hands on her lap and looks at the viewer. Andrew Pears first produced and sold Pears soap in 1807. In 1835, his grandson Francis Pears joined the business, and the firm was renamed A. & F. Pears. Lever Brothers purchased the firm in 1920., Title from item., Gift Elsie Wood Harmon, 1982., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., 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., Wood, a Philadelphia artist, turned to photography in the 1880s exhibiting his work, including genre studies of African Americans, at national and international photography exhibitions. His photographs won several prizes.
Creator
Wood, George Bacon, 1832-1909, photographer
Date
[ca. 1886]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - Wood [P.8743.186]
[African American family in front of their Pennsylvania residence]
Title
[African American family in front of their Pennsylvania residence]
Description
Depicts the African American family of four women, two men, and a boy posed in front of their two-story house with a porch, trellis, and picket fence. In the left, an older African American man, wearing white hair, stands behind the picket fence and looks directly at the viewer. A woman, wearing her hair tied up in a bun and attired in a long-sleeved dress with decorative stripes at the bottom, stands with her left arm resting on top of the open gate and looks to the left. Three women, attired in brimmed hats and long-sleeved dresses, stand resting an arm on the picket fence. The barefooted boy, attired in a cap, a shirt, a collared jacket, and pants that end just below the knees, stands next to a dog. In the right, the man, wearing a mustache and attired in a bowler hat, a shirt, a jacket, pants, and shoes, holds the reins as he sits on top of a horse, which stands on the sidewalk in front of the house., Title supplied by cataloger., Mount has decorative gold border., See accompanying manuscript notebook United States View Company's Instructions to Salesmen. (P.9502)., Gift of Martha Graybill, 1988., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., 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., The United States View Company, was established by Newton Graybill and Lewis Garman of Richfield, Pennsylvania in the 1890s. It was one of several view companies which employed operators and salesmen to photograph and sell the prints of small town residents posed in front of their homes and community buildings.
Creator
United States View Company, photographer
Date
[ca. 1890]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - United States View Company - residences [P.9253.74]