Scene showing a young African American girl in a white dress leading the procession of the young African American couple and their attendents. The bride, holds fake flowers and wears a calico shirt, white skirt, and thick cloth veil. Small picture prints and placards written in black dialect adorn the walls., Inscribed on negative: 16974., Copyright by William H. Rau., Stamped on mount: Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Liverpool, Eng. American and Foreign Views., Digitization funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
Creator
Rau, William Herman, 1855-1920, photographer
Date
c1897
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - Rau - Genre [P.9921]
Racist depiction of the nuptials of a young African American couple officiated by a white-haired African American man and witnessed by six African American attendants. In the left, the officiant, attired in a suit, holds a paper as he conducts the ceremony. The bride, attired in veil pinned to the back of her hair, a white dress with a large boutonniere of flowers, and white gloves, has her head tilted down and holds the hand of the groom. The groom, attired in a white collared shirt, a waistcoat, a jacket with a large flower boutonniere, pants, and shoes, stands facing left towards the officiant. Two women and three men stand behind the couple and watch the ceremony. One man alters a placard on the wall that reads, “suffer little children to come unto me” by crossing out “me” and writing “us” inverting the “s.” The dilapidated wall with exposed brick is sparsely decorated with another placard, “God bless our home” and a framed picture. A top hat rests on a stool., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1901 by C.H. Graves., Publisher's blindstamp on mount., Distributor's blindstamp on mount: The Universal Photo Art Co. Philadelphia, Napierville, Ill., London, Paris, Hamburg., Stamped on mount: 4574., Purchase 2001., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Digitization funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
Date
1901
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - Graves - Genre [P.9922]
