"Henry Thomas Boiler Charlottesville," a photograph taken by Rufus W. Holsinger on January 26, 1890 (most likely taken 1916).

The photograph shows six men, two of whom are African American, transporting a large piece of machinery (presumably, a boiler); "Henry Thomas" may be the transporter, or the name of the company/owner whom produced the machinery, or the overseer, etc. (note one of the men is wearing a suit while the others are dressed in laborer's clothing). 

This image is included here in that, although not a posed studio portrait of African Americans, it does 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. In this case, we see black and white men at work, an everyday occurence that was captured along with the noteworthy event of such a large piece of machinery being transported. 

More details will be added as they are found.

A note about the date: the date of 1890 would make this image one of the earliest in the entire Holsinger catalogue of photographs (click here for more information on the earliest images). It is likely that this date is a misprint in transcription from the original ledgers; most likely, it is actually January 26, 1916. Using the original Holsinger ID (X03827B), images in this sequence are dated January 26, 1916, then January 27, 1916, etc. Once the correct date is verified, this page will be updated.

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

- "Henry Thomas Boiler Charlottesville," 1890-01-26 (1916-01-26) photograph in UVA Library Catalogue (X03827B)  

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: February 23, 2021

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