There is a sizeable gap in the documentation of Black American history. So often, what we see of Black history is limited to slavery and the Civil War or the Harlem Renaissance and the civil rights era. Record of African Americans during the Gilded Age – prospering African Americans – is noticeably lacking, forgotten in the attic of history. Literally. In 1946, some 2,000 glass negatives were discovered in the attic of a home once belonging to a studio portrait photographer by the name of Alvan S. Harper. The Philadelphia-born spent over 20 years in Tallahassee, Florida, offering his services to the local population, including an African American middle class of business owners, teachers and leaders the community. A lot of Harper’s best work was lost after his death when the bulk of his studio’s negatives were mistaken as trash and destroyed. What was discovered three decades later was turned over to the State Library and is now in the care of the Florida Photographic Collection. I was particularly taken with the women in the collection, and decided to put the spotlight on them. While some efforts were made to circulate the prints in the community for identification, most of the individuals in the portraits remain nameless.
Discover more African American portraiture from this time here.
