The collection of photographic images depicting sitters of African ancestry in Britain in the Victorian era that is one part of the ABP Autograph project is now on view at the Emanuel Cooper Gallery attached to the Hutchins Center, Harvard University in Cambridge MA.
The shot above shows two young South Africans who travelled to the UK with the African Choir in the 1890s. The choir was photographed by the London Stereoscopic Co., and it looks as if these two may have been so intrigued by the whole process that the photographer used their curiosity to pose them trying out his job. Their names were John Xiniwe and Albert Jonas, which suggests they hailed from the Transkei and Cape respectively.
Many of the Black Chronicles images, drawn from the Hulton/Getty archive, are visually arresting, not least when they are enlarged to sizes impossible in the 19th century, with no loss of detail or quality, so good were the originals. The exhibition runs until 11 December and then transfers to Spelman College Museum of Fine Art in Atlanta. I look forward to seeing how the installation looks and compares with its appearance at INIVA in London last year - see earlier post 12 months ago.
For more information see also
Autograph ABP is an ongoing research, events and exhibition project - more here
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