"Convict Camp," a photograph taken by Rufus W. Holsinger on September 1, 1913. 

The photograph below shows white and black invididuals; no identifying information is known, aside from the title by which the photograph was labelled in the Holsinger ledgers. The camp is stated to be in Albemarle county.

The photograph is included here in that, although not a posed portrait 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. It is 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). 
Sources

- "Convict Camp" 1913-09-01 photograph in UVA Library Catalogue (X01639B) 

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 4, 2021

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