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- Title
- The Africans of the slave bark "Wildfire"
- Description
- Engraving shows the manner in which hundreds of African slaves were crowded on the deck of the "Wildfire," an American vessel captured off the northern coast of Cuba in April 1860. According to the accompanying text, the ship had left the Congo River thirty-six days before her capture, and had roughly five hundred Africans on board. The capture of the "Wildfire" was led by Lieutenant Craven of the United States steamer Mohawk. His experience was recounted in Harper's Weekly as follows: "Soon after the bark was anchored we repaired on boad, and on passing over the side saw, on the deck of the vessel, about four hundred and fifty native Africans, in a state of entire nudity, in a sitting or squatting posture, the most of them having their knees elevated so as to from a resting place for their head and arms. They sat very close together, mostly on either side of the vessel, forward and aft, leaving a narrow open space along the line of the centre for the crew of the vessel to pass to and fro. About fifty of them were full-grown young men, and about four hundred were boys aged from ten to sixteen years. It is said by persons acquainted with the slave-trade and who saw them, that they were generally in a very good condition of health and flesh, as compared with other similar cargoes, owing to the fact that they had not been so much crowded together on board as is common in slave voyages, and had been better fed than usual." (p. 344), Illustration in Harper's Weekly, vol. IV, no. 179 (June 2, 1860), p. 344., Caption underneath the image reads: "The slave deck of the bark 'Wildfire,' brought into Key West on April 30, 1860. -- [From a Daguerrotype.]", Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes from the Slave Trade.
- Date
- [June 1860]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare **Per H 1529.F v IV n 179 June 2 1860 p 344, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2651
- Title
- Aunt Winnie
- Description
- As the title suggests, the engraving is a portrait of Aunt Winnie, whom Strother's described as an "aged domestic" of "much importance" on a large Virginia estate. "Aunt Winnie," he explained, "was supposed to be upward of a hundred years old, and could count among her descendants children of the fifth generation" (one of whom stands at her side). According to Crayon, Aunt Winnie's cabin, a portion of which is visible in the portrait, "was fitted up with due regard to the comfort of the aged occupant, not forgetting the ornamental, in the shape of highly-colored lithographs and white fringed curtains." (p. 309), Illustration in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 13, no. 75 (August 1856), p. 310., Engraving accompanies Porte Crayon's [i.e., David Hunter Strother's] "Virginia illustrated. Adventures of Porte Crayon and his cousins," which was published in book form in 1857 by Harper & Brothers of New York., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes from Slave Life.
- Creator
- Orr, John William, 1815-1887, engraver
- Date
- [August 1856]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Per H 9 62992.O v 13 n 75 August 1856 p 310, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2872
- Title
- The banks of the River James
- Description
- Image is set Lynchburg, Virginia, where a party of African American men rest on the bank of the River James. A row-boat and two oars are visible in the left foreground; a wagon occupies the background., Illustration in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 12, no. 68 (January 1856), p. 174., Engraving accompanies Porte Crayon's [i.e., David Hunter Srother's] "Virginia Illustrated. Adventures of Porte Crayon and his Cousins," which was published in book form in 1857. See David Hunter Strother, Virginia Illustrated (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1857)., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes from Slave Life.
- Date
- [January 1856]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Per H 9 62992.O v 12 n 68 January 1856 p 174, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2869
- Title
- Carrying cotton to the gin
- Description
- Engraving is one of several accompanying T.B. Thorpe's article "Cotton and its Cultivation." It shows seven African American plantation hands walking with large baskets of cotton on their heads. The men and women walk in a perfect line, leaving three or four paces between them. The illustration corresponds with the following passage, "Among the most characteristic scenes of plantation life is the returning of the hands at nightfall from the field, with their well-filled baskets of cotton upon their heads. Falling unconsciously "into line," the stoutest leading the way, they move along in the dim twilight of a winter day with the quietness of spirits rather than human beings." (p. 455-56), Illustration in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 8, no. 46 (March 1854), p. 457., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Work Scenes.
- Creator
- Orr, John William, 1815-1887, engraver
- Date
- [January 1854]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Per H 9 62992.O v 8 n 46 March 1854 p 457, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2865
- Title
- A conservative philospher
- Description
- Crayon's "conservative philosopher" is a Virginia boot-black named Billy Devilburg, whose tendency to philosophize about boots and social class earned him this title. Devilburg is shown in his shop, where, surrounded by boots, he holds forth on this topic. According to Crayon, Devilburg was "a specimen of his race that merited more than a casual glance." As he wrote, "time had made strong marks upon his face, but good temper and full feeding had kept out the petty wrinkles which indicate decrepitude. His broad forehead, fringed with grizzled wool, imparted an air of dignity to his countenance, his one eye beamed with honesty, while his quiet, deferential manner inspired the respect it tendered." (p. 178), Illustration in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 12, no. 68 (January 1856), p. 178., Engraving accompanies Porte Crayon's [i.e., David Hunter Srother's] "Virginia Illustrated. Adventures of Porte Crayon and his Cousins," which was published in book form in 1857. See David Hunter Strother, Virginia Illustrated (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1857)., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Work Scenes.
- Date
- [January 1856]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Per H 9 62992.O v 12 n 68 January 1856 p 178, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2871
- Title
- The cook
- Description
- As the title suggests, the engraving is a portrait of a Virginia cook, whom Crayon described as "not merely a black woman, . . . but one bearing a patent stamp by the broad seal of Nature; the type of a class whose skill is not of books or training, but a gift both rich and rare -- who flourishes her spit as Amphitrite does her trident (or her husband's, which is all the same), whose ladle is as a royal sceptre in her hands, who has grown sleek and fat on the steam of her own genius, whose children have the first dip in all gravies, the exclusive right to all livers and gizzards, not to mention breasts of fried chickens -- who brazens her mistress, boxes her scullions, and scalds the dogs . . . ." (p. 176) Shown in her kitchen, the stout cook wears an apron and a kerchief, and is surrounded by bowls, buckets, a grill, and cooking utensils., Illustration in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 12, no. 68 (January 1856), p. 177., Engraving accompanies Porte Crayon's [i.e., David Hunter Srother's] "Virginia Illustrated. Adventures of Porte Crayon and his Cousins," which was published in book form in 1857. See David Hunter Strother, Virginia Illustrated (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1857)., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Work Scenes.
- Date
- [January 1856]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Per H 9 62992.O v 12 n 68 January 1856 p 177, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2870
- Title
- Cotton gin -- Ginning cotton
- Description
- Engraving is one of several accompanying T.B. Thorpe's article "Cotton and its Cultivation." Set in a gin-house, it shows two plantation hands working at a cotton gin. While a man pushes cotton out of the "packing-room" (a loft space) and down a chute, a woman uses a rake-like tool to guide it through the gin. Standing nearby, a woman with a bucket on her head watches the process, and a man peeks into the gin-house through an open window. Two large baskets used for carrying cotton can be seen in the left foreground., Illustration in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 8, no. 46 (March 1854), p. 459., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Work Scenes.
- Date
- [January 1854]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Per H 9 62992.O v 8 n 46 March 1854 p 459, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2866
- Title
- Cotton pressing in Louisiana
- Description
- Engraving shows the pressing of cotton, which, according to the unnamed author of an accompanying article, represents "one of the most interesting of the various stages of preparation of cotton for the market." After being picked and harvested, the cotton was compressed into bales similar those shown in the left foreground. The press (center) was described as being "supported by a heavy frame of timber" and "about nine feet in depth." As the author explained, the work proceeded as follows: "Into this, the light, the fleecy substance is poured, and the capstan bar being set to work, it is gradually compressed to the required size, the cords are fastened round the bale, and it leaps out ready for transportation." Commenting on the slaves' labor, the author remarked, "In our sketch, a party is busily filling the press, and two stout hands are removing the bales under the direction of the overseer. But the life and soul of the party is at the capstan, in the person of the lively darky [third from right] engaged in extravagant imitations of the overseer, and jeers at the expense of the solemn figure next to him. This mercurial 'culled passion,' a fair specimen of his light-hearted race, by his jokes and high spirits, almost doubles the motive power at the bars. Though apparently solely occupied with attempts upon the facial muscles of his fellow-servants, yet at the exact moment, he will turn a somerset, kick the shins of his next neighbors, like a playful donkey, and run round with the bars, the loudest in singing the monotonous but not unmusical chant by which the black accompany their labor." (p. 236), Illustration in Ballou's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion, vol. X, no. 15 (April 12, 1856), p. 236., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Work Scenes.
- Creator
- Pierce, William J., engraver
- Date
- [1856]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare *Per B 1 5919.F v X n 15 April 12 1856 p 236, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2862
- Title
- A Negro funeral
- Description
- Engraving accompanies T. Addison Richard's narrative, "The Rice Lands of the South," which, among other topics, describes slave life on southern rice plantations. It shows a slave funeral, set in a heavily wooded grove, in which numerous mourners take part. A preacher with raised, out-streched arms leads the service; mourners kneel, pray, and weep. Engraving corresponds with the following passage: "The state of excitement and exaltation to which their [i.e, the plantation slaves'] impressionable natures are so easily wrought, especially in religious matters, is manifest in their singing even more strangely than in their preaching and praying. These performances though, are, with all their grotesqueness and absurdity, often very effective and beautiful. Not seldom has it been our pleasure to listen to impromptu music, wondrously sweet and wild and weird, which, well counterfeited on the lyric stage, would bring fame and fortune. Perhaps the most remarkable of these exhibtions are those which are wont to occur on occasions of funeral solemnities, celebrated, as they generally are, in the deep night-darkness of some dense old wood, made doubly dismal by the ghostly light of the pine torches and the phantom-like figures of the scarcely visible mourners." (p. 735), Illustration in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 19, no. 114 (November 1859), p. 731., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes from Slave Life.
- Date
- [November 1859]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Per H 9 62992.O v 19 n 114 November 1859 p 731, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2876
- Title
- Osman
- Description
- Illustration accompanies the narrative, "The Dismal Swamp." A fugitive slave identified only as Osman sits amidst some tangled undergrowth. Holding his gun, he appears watchful. According to the text, a "tattered blanket" is wrapped about his shoulders, and he wears "little other clothing than a pair of ragged breeches an boots." His hair and beard are described as "tipped with gray." (p 453), Illustration in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 13, no. 76 (September 1856), p. 452., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Fugitives.
- Date
- [September 1856]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Per H 9 62992.O v 13 n 76 September 1856 p 452, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2873
- Title
- Picking cotton
- Description
- Engraving is one of several accompanying T.B. Thorpe's article "Cotton and its Cultivation." It shows several black field hands picking cotton, and corresponds with the following passage: "The season of cotton picking commences in the latter part of July, and continues without intermission to the Christmas holidays. The work is not heavy, but becomes tedious from its sameness. The field hands are each supplied with a basket and a bag. The basket is left at the head of the 'cotton-rows;' the bag is suspended from the 'picker's' neck by a strap, and is used to hold the cotton as it is taken from the boll. When the bag is filled it is emptied into the basket, and this routine is continued through the day." (p. 455), Illustration in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 8, no. 46 (March 1854), p. 456., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Work Scenes.
- Creator
- Orr, John William, 1815-1887, engraver
- Date
- [January 1854]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Per H 9 62992.O v 8 n 46 March 1854 p 456, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2864
- Title
- [Scene from Northwood, or, life North and South]
- Description
- Set in a lush grove on the bank of a river, lake, or pond, the vignette features a black man (presumably a slave), who helps a young white boy (most likely the son of his master) steady a fishing pole. The well-dressed boy sits on the knee of the barefoot slave., Vignette in a full-page advertisement for Sarah Hale's Northwood; or, Life North and South (New York: H. Long & Brother, 43 Ann-Street, [1852]), printed in The Literary World: a Gazette for Authors, Readers, and Publishers, edited by C.F. Hoffmann (New York: Osgood & Co., 1852), vol. 11, no. 299 (October 23, 1852), p. 272., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes from Slave Life
- Creator
- Orr, John William, 1815-1887, engraver
- Date
- [October 1852]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare *Per L 49.7 2478.Q v 11 n 299 p 272, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2883
- Title
- The tango
- Description
- Engraving accompanies the lead article "The Carib Settlements." According to the unnamed author, it is set in the house of the "King of the Cannibal Islands" in Tulian, Honduras. In the center of the scene, a small group dances to the sound of the musicians' drums (right). As the author explained, "Our arrival was the signal for the commencement of the festivities. Such another exhibition of the Terpsichorean art I never had the pleasure of witnessing. Their instruments consisted of a couple of drums made of hollow logs with hide stretched over one end, and a Boston tin cracker-box, on which instruments a sort of running accompaniment was beaten with their hands. Wild songs were chanted during the progress of the dance, one of which, more moderate than the rest, and in English, was shouted for our benefit." In the next paragraph, he continued, "I am told their dancing is a perfect counterpart of similar proceedings on the western coast of Africa, from whence they originally came. They place the music in the centre of the room, and arranged themselves around it, and commenced a series of movements of the body, throwing in frequent twists and jerks by way of embellishment." (p. 149), Illustration in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 15, no. 86 (July 1857), p. 149., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes from Daily Life.
- Date
- July 1857
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Per H 9 62992.O v 15 n 86 July 1857 p 149, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2874
- Title
- Tobacco plantation
- Description
- Engraving accompanies the lead article "The History and Mystery of Tobacco." It is set on a tobacco plantation, and shows a large field of tobacco plants, as well as two surrounding buildings. In the foreground, three black men use hoes to break up the soil and pull the grass around the growing plants., Illustration in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 11, no. 61 (June 1855), p. 8., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Work Scenes.
- Date
- [June 1855]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Per H 9 62992.O v 11 n 61 June 1855 p 8, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2867
- Title
- Tuning up
- Description
- Engraving is one of several accompanying the story "A Winter in the South." It is set in Tennesse, and shows three black musicians, who, at the request of their master, played for him and his family on Christmas Day. According to the story's unnamed author, the master's rhetorical question " . . . because we have the misfortune to be white, shall we never forget our cares and troubles?" was followed by the decisive order, "Bring in the fiddlers!" As the author then wrote, "In came the joyful musicians, grinning from ear to ear, and bowing until they sweep the floor with their greasy hats, anticipating the extra drams and half-dollars for their holiday spendings." (p. 295) In the illustration, the musicians are show with their instruments (fiddles and a tamborine). The portrayal of their facial features adheres to negative racial stereotypes., Illustration in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 17, no. 99 (August 1858), p. 295., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes from Daily Life.
- Date
- [August 1858]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Per H 9 62992.O v 17 n 99 August 1858 p 295, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2875
- Title
- "Virginia hoe-down"
- Description
- Aboard a steamer on the Mississippi River, a black deck-hand and a fiddler hold their own "Virginia hoe-down." The engraving accompanies T.B. Thorpe's "Remembrances of the Mississippi," and corresponds with a passage in which he describes the festive, light-hearted, and "happy" nature of "the negroes of the Mississippi." "With professional boat-men," Thorpe wrote," they are always favorites, and at night, when the 'old ark' is tied up, their acme of human felicity is a game of 'old sledge,' enlivened by a fiddle. On such ocassions the master of the instrument will touch off the 'Arkansas traveler,' and then gradually sliding into a 'Virginia hoe-down,' he will be accompanied by a genuine darkie keeping time, on the light and fantastic heel-and-toe tap." (p. 37) As the deck-hand dances and the fiddler plays, two boatmen play cards and a third looks on., Illustration in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 12, no. 67 (December 1855), p. 38., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes from Slave Life.
- Date
- [December 1855]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Per H 9 62992.O v 12 n 67 December 1855 p 38, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2868