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]
