Negersklavin Bahia (Black Slave Bahia)

Alberto Henschel

ca. 1869

Sensitive Content

The names of the subjects in this portrait are unknown. It is widely understood by scholars of the period that people of color generally did not give informed consent to be photographed nor were they offered compensation. This image provides insight into history; however, The Posen Library does not condone these practices or oppression of any kind.
Full body profile photograph of person in profile with baby in shawl on her back.
This carte-de-visite photograph was made at a time when photographs the size of visiting cards were popular. Some were mass produced, for sale to the public. People collected and traded photographs of celebrities, but also “ethnographic” pictures of subjects considered exotic, such as this one of an enslaved woman posed with an infant in a sling on her back, her hand resting on what might be a melon.

Credits

Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography, Archive for Geography, SAm21-0064.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 6.

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