Sarah Ashley, ex-slave – Antique Print
(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
Sarah Ashley, ex-slave comes to life in this historic photograph, reproduced from the original with every detail intact. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.
Framed, it is ready for the wall; unframed, it is ready for the frame you choose. A conversation-starting piece for home, office, or as a meaningful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past, founded in 2001, has served tens of thousands of customers worldwide.
Sarah Ashley, ex-slave
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Sarah Ashley is the subject of this small gelatin silver portrait, one of the formal studio-style images made in 1937 as part of the Federal Writers' Project slave narrative collection. The photograph was taken as part of a Works Progress Administration effort to document the last living generation of people who had been enslaved in the United States, and it was paired with the written interviews gathered from the same survivors. Portraits like this one were meant to put a face to testimony that might otherwise have been lost, and the plain background and direct gaze give the sitter a sense of dignity that was central to the project's purpose.
| Created / published | 1937 May 28. |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 photographic print : gelatin silver ; 3 1/2 x 2 1/4 in. |
| Genre | Portrait photographs 1930-1940.Gelatin silver prints 1930-1940. |
| Notes | District no. 27. Official project no. 265-6903. Work project no. 6900-(27). Forms part of: Portraits of African American ex-slaves from the U.S. Works Progress Administration, Federal Writers' Project slave narratives collections. |
| Subjects | Ashley, Sarah. African Americans--Women--1930-1940. Freedmen--United States--1930-1940. Older people--United States--1930-1940. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 3,302 × 4,096 px · prints to 11 × 14 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-201101 |
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