ID/KEY: P48337

"Bertha Austin," a photograph by Rufus W. Holsinger, date unknown (image not part of the UVA Library Holsinger Studio Collection; image courtesy of Professor John Mason).

The photograph is useful in showing how the portraits actually appeared to customers: cardboard mounting with the "Holsinger Studio" logo embossed on the front. On the back is written "Estes Street" (Charlottesville). 

The J. F. Bell Funeral Home Records of the same time period mention a Bertha Austin who was married to Charles Hampton Austin (Charles d. September 5, 1947); this may be the same woman photographed below. The records also mention Bertha and Charles having a son, James Henry Austin, d. June 15, 1947).

Additional information about Bertha Austin and the date of the photograph 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:

- Daughters of Zion Cemetery Burial List, 16 July 2019 (courtesy Preservers of the Daughters of Zion Cemetery)

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

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