[Portrait depicting an unidentified African American Oddfellow attired in his Grand United Order of Oddfellows (GUOOF) regalia] [graphic] / J.C. Pinner, photographer, Dyersburg, Tenn.
Title
[Portrait depicting an unidentified African American Oddfellow attired in his Grand United Order of Oddfellows (GUOOF) regalia]
Description
aThree-quarter length studio portrait of an African American man attired in his GUOOF regalia, standing, looking forward, and holding his left hand on the top of the back of a chair. He also wears a goatee. His regalia includes a collar containing emblems depicting stars, vinery, and "PNF" (Past Noble Father) and an apron containing imagery composed of female allegorical figures flanking a crest. The collar also includes fringe and tassles. Parts of the collar and apron are tinted gold in image. Man also wears a collarless shirt, jacket, and a ring (tinted gold on image) on his left hand. In 1819, a branch of Oddfellowship, a mutual aid society with the motto "Friendship, Love, and Truth", was introduced into the United States from Europe by Thomas Wildey. In 1843, it became a separate organization under the name Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The same year, Peter Ogden founded the Philomathean Lodge No. 646, Grand United Order of Oddfellows with Black members. By the mid 1860s, the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows (GUOOF), American Jurisdiction included over 60 active lodges and in 1872 dispensation was granted for a Lodge in Memphis, Tennessee. Oddfellows' vows included not only moral and social outreach, but also ones to remain sober, honest, industrious and benevolent, a good husband, a kind father, and a loyal and virtuous citizen. By 1900, the GUOOF in America was the second largest African-American fraternal organization with over 200,000 members and over 2,000 lodges and a headquarters in Philadelphia. Its membership consisted mainly of lawyers, doctors, military officers, ministers, and other professionals., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from photographic medium, attire of the sitter, and the dispensation date of the first Grand United Order of OddfFellows lodge in Memphis, Tennessee., Purchased partially with funds from the Davida Tenenbaum Deutsch African American History Fund and for the Visual Culture Program., RVCDC, Joseph Columbus Pinner (1837-1895), born in Stewart County, Tennessee and trained as a doctor, entered the photography profession about 1865. In 1867, he located to Dyersburg, Tennessee where he continued as a professional photographer. By the late 1880s, he had served as a town alderman, mayor, and magistrate as well as was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Creator
Pinner, Joseph Columbus, II, 1837-1895, photographer
Date
1872
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department tintypes - photographer - Pinner [P.2025.43]