JUEL ID/KEY: P48246

"James Kenner," a photograph by Rufus W. Holsinger taken on February 3, 1917.

From Family Photo Day, 9 March 2019: 

"These were brothers who worked on the Southern Railroad. They were firemen - the guys that put the coal in." - Mr. Melvin Flannagan Jr., participant at Family Photo Day.  

Note that this portrait shows the young man 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: he is dressed in generic laborer's clothing that do not specifically indicate their profession. Perhaps, then, he simply came in to have his portrait taken in the clothing he was wearing at that time. Whether purposefully showcasing his occupation or not (choosing to be photographed "as is"), this is an interesting act of self-representation. 

Additional information about James Kenner 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).
Sources

- "James Kenner," 1917-02-03 photograph in UVA Library Catalogue (X04798A) 

- printed notes, flipbook vol. 4.1  

- 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

First published: June 2, 2020     

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