JUEL ID/KEY: P48253

"Buttler Surber," a photograph by Rufus W. Holsinger taken on March 8, 1919. 

From Family Photo Day (March 9, 2019):
"I believe Mr. Surber worked on the railroad until he retired he lived on Brown and 6th St NW on that very corner." - anonymous, participant at Family Photo Day.   

A "Butler Suber" (note the variation in spelling) is listed in the J. F. Bell Funeral Home database, born July 4, 1896, died July 20, 1970; his spouse was Eunice Suber and he was buried at the Oakwood Cemetery (Daughters of Zion Cemetery). This Butler Suber may or may not be the same person as the subject photographed. 

Note that this portrait shows the two 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 individuals 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"), these are interesting acts of self-representation. 

Additional information about Buttler Surber 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) photographed, but rather the name of the person who paid for it when it was taken (the date and name associated with each photograph is from the business ledgers of R. W. Holsinger).
Sources

- "Buttler Surber," 1919-03-08 photograph in UVA Library Catalogue (X07477A) 

- printed notes, flipbook vol. 6.2 

- comments from Family Photo Day courtesy of [anonymous] 

- J. F. Bell Funeral Home Records

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: January 2, 2019

Return to the Holsinger Main Page or African-American Portraiture List of Names