Stereographs, 1871-1909

Scope and content:

The Stereograph series contains 1 stereoscope viewer and 82 stereograph cards dating from 1871 to 1909 that depict Black Americans. Several of the cards have images of people at working at jobs such as collecting turpentine, loading sea vessels, showing livestock at expositions, and harvesting cotton, rice, sugar cane, pineapples and coconuts. One of the most popular genres of stereographs in the 19th and early 20th century were humorous posed views; many of the pictures in this collection from that genre are representations of derogatory stereotypes. Publishers of the stereographs include Strohmeyer and Wyman, Underwood and Underwood, and T. W. Ingersoil. The stereographs are arranged alphabetically by publisher, and then the stereographs without publishers are arranged by the original inventory number.

Subjects:

Stereographs

Access and use