The chain gang, Thomasville, Georgia – Vintage Wall Art
![The chain gang, Thomasville, Georgia, [between 1884 and 1891] — historic photograph](https://images.jameslantos.com/img/ab/ab43a322e30d-L.webp)
(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 The chain gang, Thomasville, Georgia in remarkable detail. Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.
The framed print arrives ready to hang; the unframed option suits custom framing. A conversation-starting piece for home, office, or as a meaningful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past has been bringing history to the wall since 2001, for tens of thousands of customers worldwide.
The chain gang, Thomasville, Georgia
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Thomasville, in southwest Georgia, is the place named here, and the record dates the print to somewhere between 1884 and 1891, a stretch when convict leasing and county chain gangs were a common part of Southern penal systems. After the Civil War, many Southern states and counties swept Black men into the justice system on minor or invented charges and then put them to work on roads, railways and public projects, often shackled together at the ankle. The print preserves that labor in a single frame, and it was likely one of many views of such crews that circulated in the 1880s and 1890s. Its place in an album, on page 64, suggests it was collected as a record of local life rather than as a stand-alone image.
| Created / published | [between 1884 and 1891] |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 photographic print. |
| Genre | Photographic prints 1880-1900. |
| Notes | In album: p. 64. |
| Subjects | African Americans--Capture & imprisonment--Georgia--Thomasville--1880-1900. Chain gangs--Georgia--Thomasville--1880-1900. Prisoners--Georgia--Thomasville--1880-1900. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 4,096 × 3,302 px · prints to 14 × 11 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-203442 |
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