JUEL ID/KEY: P48660

"Mrs. B. Bowling," two photographs taken by Rufus W. Holsinger on January 31, 1916. 

Of interest are the African American woman to the bottom left, and the African American woman and man to the bottom right in the group photo below. This photo appears to be a copy of a print, rather than an original photo by Holsinger himself. It was not uncommon at the time for photographers to make copies in this manner for customers. 

Similar group portraits that show a family gathering (for wedding, anniversary, or just for posterity's sake) in front of the family home, while also purposefully including the African American employees or family acquaintances, are: "Golden Wedding Anniversary, Moss" and "Mrs. C. W. Durrett."

The UVA Catalogue notes of the portrait of the woman below, "uncertain identification," since the subject also appears in negative X03836B (see the third portrait, below, labelled, "Mrs. W. H. Faulkner"). All three photos have the same date of January 31, 1916. Likely, the label Mrs. Faulkner is incorrect. Other photos were made by Holsinger for the Bolling family (note the alternative spelling).

Additional information about Mrs. B. Bowling/Bolling and the subjects pictured 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).

Below: "Mrs. B. Bowling" (X03837B) 

Below: "Mrs. B. Bowling" (X03838B)
 

Below: "Mrs. W. H. Faulkner" (X03836B)

Sources

- "Mrs. B. Bowling," 1916-01-31 photograph in UVA Catalogue (X03837B)

- "Mrs. B. Bowling," 1916-01-31 photograph in UVA Catalogue (X03838B)

- "Mrs. W. H. Faulkner," 1916-01-31 photograph in UVA Catalogue (X03836B)
 

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: October 1, 2019     

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