Untitled (group of men, fox hunt), nine photographs by Rufus W. Holsinger, date unknown (likely 1907).

Photographs were labelled in Holsinger's ledgers by the name of the person whom paid for the portrait; in this instance, no name is associated (perhaps an error in transcribing Holsinger's written ledgers, or, perhaps the writing was illegible for that entry). The date is not listed in the library catalogue, but in one portrait a sign saying 1907 can be seen. 

The University of Virginia library catalogue describes the nine photographs (U00064 - U00072) as a sequence of photos; one of them is labelled "Washington Society" (U00072C); possibly, the picnic and fox hunt are all attended by the Washington Society members. Several African American men can be seen in the portraits, helping with the hunt and serving/preparing the food, playing music, and sitting/standing while the picnic is underway. While the photos are unremarkable in showing rather uneventful scenes, they are for this reason particularly interesting in that they capture how white and black men coexisted in a shared space/event (at labor and leisure, oudoors, etc.). Also interesting is that these were the specific moments that Holsinger chose to capture, these nine particular moments, while being commissioned to capture the day's event. 

In the first photograph below (U00064A), you can see an African American man at left, preparing food, and another African American man with a tray of bread (from the cardboard box, which has a partially-obscured label that reads, "bread").

In the second photograph below (U00068A), you see a group of five young African American men/boys, overseeing the cooking in four large cast-iron pots (with two seated on a car rail, in the background). This image is interesting in that Holsinger evidently found this scene to be "photo-worthy," if only for, apparently, showing an informal, casual grouping of boys doing the minor tasks required of serving food at a picnic. 

Similarly, the third photograph below (U00072A) shows both the size of the crowd for the picnic, and that four African Americans were there to play music for the group/provide entertainment for the day (guitar, bass instruments in play). 

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.

The identity of, and additional information about, the men 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: U00064A
 

Below: U00068A

Below: U00072A

Sources

- "Untitled," date unknown (1907), photograph in UVA Library Catalogue (U00064A)

- "Untitled," date unknown (1907), photograph in UVA Library Catalogue (U00068A) 

- "Untitled," date unknown (1907), photograph in UVA Library Catalogue (U00072A)

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 3, 2021

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