"Surgical Amphitheater, University of Virginia Hospital," two photographs by Rufus W. Holsinger taken on February 8, 1913.

The photographs depict the interior of the theater during an operation; the African American man was likely called the "orderly" (the common term used in this time period to describe this kind of employment, as seen in the Charlottesville City Directory and censuses). This job position was near-exclusively held by African Americans; all the orderlies listed in the Charlottesville City Directory, 1914-15, for instance, are African-American men.  

These photographs are included here in that, although not posed in-studio portraits of African Americans, they do 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.

More details will be added as they are found. 

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: X01125B1

Below: X01125B2

Sources

- "Surgical Amphitheater, University of Virginia Hospital," 02-08-1913, photograph in UVA Library Catalogue (X01125B1)

- "Surgical Amphitheater, University of Virginia Hospital," 02-08-1013, photograph in UVA Library Catalogue (X01125B2)   

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 12, 2021

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