Snapshots of the Past

[Clerical training class, National Training School for Women and Girls, Washington, D.C.] – Antique Print

[Clerical training class, National Training School for Women and Girls, Washington, D.C.], [between 1910 and 1920] — historic photograph
[Clerical training class, National Training School for Women and Girls, Washington, D.C.], [between 1910 and 1920]. Historic photograph from the Washington DC 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

A window into the past: [Clerical training class, National Training School for Women and Girls, Washington, D.C.], preserved in this historic photograph. Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.

Framed, it is ready for the wall; unframed, it is ready for the frame you choose. It brings character to any room and makes a memorable gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past, founded in 2001, has served tens of thousands of customers worldwide.

[Clerical training class, National Training School for Women and Girls, Washington, D.C.]

Order a print

Secure checkout · SSL encryptedPowered by Stripe and PayPal

Free shipping in the lower 48 states. The checkout page shows the picture, size and price before you pay.

Sign up for our newsletter

Sent securely. No purchase needed. Unsubscribe anytime.

Ask about licensing or this print

Few schools of its era gave Black women business training as seriously as the National Training School for Women and Girls, which Nannie Helen Burroughs founded in Washington, D.C., in 1909. This group portrait of a clerical training class, made by Crosby's Studio sometime between 1910 and 1920, shows students preparing for office work at a time when such jobs were largely closed to Black women. The school, backed by the women's organization of the National Baptist Convention, paired academic instruction with practical trades and stressed self-reliance and dignity. Look closely at the classroom itself for a sense of the disciplined, hands-on training the students were receiving.

Created / published[between 1910 and 1920]
Medium1 photographic print.
GenreGroup portraits 1910-1920.Portrait photographs 1910-1920.Photographic prints 1910-1920.
NotesPhotograph by Crosby's Studio, Washington, D.C.
SubjectsAfrican Americans--Women--Washington (D.C.)--1910-1920. African Americans--Education--Washington (D.C.)--1910-1920. Students--Washington (D.C.)--1910-1920. Classrooms--Washington (D.C.)--1910-1920.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,536 × 1,142 px · prints to 5 × 4 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-164009

More from the Washington DC collection

Snapshots of the Past helps heritage brands, museums, historians and storytellers tell stories with history: historic prints, image licensing and historical storytelling drawn from more than 25 years of research and curation.

Related pictures

[Five girls lying on mat in gymnasium in front of basketball scoreboard, Western High School, Washington, D.C.][Five girls lying on mat in gymnasium in front of basketball scoreboard, Western[Group of young women studying plants in normal school, Washington, D.C.][Group of young women studying plants in normal school, Washington, D.C.][Students in a drawing class, Western High School, Washington, D.C.][Students in a drawing class, Western High School, Washington, D.C.]Herbert E. French, proprietor of the National Photo Co., posed in his Washington, D.C. studioHerbert E. French, proprietor of the National Photo Co., posed in his WashingtonThe National Tabernacle, Washington, D.C.The National Tabernacle, Washington, D.C.[Elementary school children standing and watching teacher write at blackboard, Washington, D.C.][Elementary school children standing and watching teacher write at blackboard, W