Gibson, Ed
    by Julia Munro

ID/KEY: P48242

"Ed Gibson," a photograph by Rufus W. Holsinger taken on November 25, 1916.

From Family Photo Day, 9 March 2019: 

"Ed Gibson was a fireman on a train called the Piedmont, which was a first-class passenger train that ran from Atlanta to New York. He made big money--10$ per week." - Mr. Melvin Flannagan Jr., participant at Family Photo Day. 

Note that this portrait shows the young men dressed in worker's clothing. It was not uncommon in this time period to choose to depict oneself in one's work clothing and with accessories/tools of the trade when sitting for a photo, known as "occupational portraits" (Finefield) (for an example, see James Lightfoot). This portrait, however, gives no indication of the work of the individual below, and so technically is not an occupational portrait, per se: they are dressed in generic laborer's clothing that do not specifically indicate their profession. Perhaps, then, they simply came in to have their portrait taken in the clothing they were wearing at that time. Whether purposefully showcasing their occupation or not (choosing to be photographed "as is"), this is an interesting act of self-representation. 

Additional information about Ed Gibson will be added as it is researched.

NOTE that the name with which the portrait is labelled (or, labelled "untitled") is not necessarily the name of the sitter(s) in the portrait, but rather the name of the person who paid for the portrait when it was taken (the date and name associated with each photograph is from the business ledgers of R. W. Holsinger).Gibson, Ed
Sources

- "Ed Gibson," 1916-11-25 photograph in UVA Library Catalogue (X04609A) 

- printed notes, flipbook vol.2.1  

- comments from Family Photo Day courtesy Mr. Melvin Flannagan, Jr. 

SEE ALSO:

Holsinger Image Gallery of African Americans

 

J. F. Bell Funeral Home Records

 

Charlottesville City Directory, 1914-15 [Hathi Trust] 

  

1870 & 1910 U. S. Census - Charlottesville & Esmont Communities

 

Cite This Entry
  • APA Citation:

    Munro, J.F. (2022, February 14). Ed Gibson. Holsinger Portrait Project. https://juel.iath.virginia.edu/node/1199

  • MLA Citation:

    Munro, Julia F. "Ed Gibson." Holsinger Portrait Project. Univ. Virginia (2022, February 14). Web. [Date accessed].

First published: May 23, 2019    
 

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