"Lyndall Apartments Charlottesville," eleven photographs by Rufus W. Holsinger taken on October 5, 1916.

Of the eleven, there are 3 photographs that include African Americans: two show cooks (and are exact duplicates of one another), and the third shows 8 African American waiters. The remaining photos show the interior and exterior of the building.

The three photos are clearly posed, to show the employees at work.

These photographs are included here in that, although not posed studio portraits of African Americans, they show actual interactions between white and black citizens at a time when segregation due to Jim Crow laws was in play or, in this instance, show African Americans in their own domain (whether before their home, in social groups, etc.). They are highly valuable in providing "visual evidence" of that lived environment.  

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: X04483CB

Below: X04483CB1

Below: X04483EB 
 
Sources

- "Lyndall Apartments Charlottesville," 1916-10-05 photograph in UVA Library Catalogue (X04483CB)  

-  "Lyndall Apartments Charlottesville," 1916-10-05 photograph in UVA Library Catalogue (X04483CB1)  

- "Lyndall Apartments Charlottesville," 1916-10-05 photograph in UVA Library Catalogue (X04483EB) 

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

First published: January 3, 2021

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