"West Main Street Charlottesville," thirteen photographs taken by Rufus W. Holsinger on April 8, 1918. 

The photographs show laborers and observers/passersby; the UVA Library Catalogue notes that the photographs appear to be in a sequence, showing excavation by the Southern Railroad company. The four photographs included below show African Americans amongst the other workers. 

The first photograph (X06020B5) shows three men and a young African-American boy in the foreground. 

The second photograph (X06020B6) shows nine individuals total; one African-American laborer is visible in the foreground.

The third photograph (X06020B8) shows nine individuals as well. Two of the laborers are African American.

The last photograph (X06020B12) shows seveteen individuals; approximately six of the individuals appear to be African American.

These photograph 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. 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: X06020B5

Below: X06020B6

Below: X06020B8

Below: X0602B12
 
Sources

- "West Main Street Charlottesville," 1918-04-08 photograph in UVA Library Catalogue (X06020B5)

- "West Main Street Charlottesville," 1918-04-08 photograph in UVA Library Catalogue (X06020B6)

- "West Main Street Charlottesville," 1918-04-08 photograph in UVA Library Catalogue (X06020B8)

- "West Main Street Charlottesville," 1918-04-08 photograph in UVA Library Catalogue (X06020B12) 

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: April 3, 2021

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