Snapshots of the Past

W. L. Smith, grocer in Knoxville, Tenn. – Vintage Print

W. L. Smith, grocer in Knoxville, Tenn., [1899?] — historic photograph
W. L. Smith, grocer in Knoxville, Tenn., [1899?]. Historic photograph from the Historic Print Archive collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

This rare historic photograph captures W. L. Smith, grocer in Knoxville, Tenn. in remarkable detail. Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.

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W. L. Smith, grocer in Knoxville, Tenn.

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A Knoxville grocer's business, with its delivery wagons, is the focus of this print, which the caption card identifies as W. L. Smith's store. The card also reports that the picture was shown in the American Negro exhibit at the Paris Exposition of 1900, a display of photographs and statistics on Black life in the United States that W.E.B. Du Bois and Thomas J. Calloway helped assemble. Such images were meant to show Black Americans working as merchants, tradesmen, and professionals, which challenged common stereotypes of the time. The wagons and the storefront are worth studying for clues about commerce and daily labor in turn-of-the-century Tennessee.

Created / published[1899?]
Medium1 photographic print.
GenrePhotographic prints 1890-1900.
SubjectsTitle and other information transcribed from caption card. Reportedly displayed as part of the American Negro exhibit at the Paris Exposition of 1900. Caption card tracings: Geogr.; African Americans -- Employment; Wagons.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,200 × 1,536 px · prints to 4 × 5 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-145954

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