e-Newsletter | October 1, 2021 |
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In anticipation of the Race & Slavery in New England Symposium, set for Monday, October 11, 2021, this week's story highlights another upcoming program, Ilisa Barbash's Zoom presentation, The Zealy Daguerreotypes: Research, Writing & Collaboration, scheduled for Thursday, October 28, 2021 at 7:00 p.m.
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The Zealy Daguerreotypes: Research, Writing and Collaboration
By Ilisa Barbash
Among the most challenging images in the history of photography are fifteen daguerreotypes of men and women of African descent who were enslaved, and photographed against their will, in South Carolina – Alfred, Delia, Drana, Fassena, Jack, Jem and Renty.
Taken by local photographer, Joseph Zealy, for Harvard scientist Louis Agassiz, these images are powerful visual indictments of the horrific institution of slavery. But that was not their original purpose. This article, the book To Make Their Own Way in the World: The Enduring Legacy of the Zealy Daguerreotypes (Aperture/Peabody Museum Press: 2020,) and the talk, The Zealy Daguerreotypes: Research, Writing and Collaboration, explore some of this complicated history.
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Joseph, Zealy, Photograph of Jack, 1/4 plate daguerreotype, 1850. Courtesy of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, 35-5-10/5304. |
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As a professor of zoology and geology at the newly founded Lawrence School of Science at Harvard University, Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz (1807-1873) was in great demand as a public speaker and widely considered an authority on all matters scientific, including those beyond his initial training.
In 1850, after lecturing at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Charleston, South Carolina, he was invited to visit Columbia by Robert W. Gibbes, a doctor who administered medical care at local plantations.
Gibbes took Agassiz to Richland County plantations and businesses, where they selected Africans and African Americans to compare: Renty, whom Agassiz identified as being from Congo, and his American-born daughter Delia; Jem, a Gullah; Jack, from Guinea, and his American-born daughter Drana; Fassena, “Mandingo,” and Alfred, “Foulah” or Fulani. After Agassiz returned to his office in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Gibbes arranged to have studio photographs taken of these seven enslaved people and sent some fifteen daguerreotypes to Agassiz.
The zoologist hoped the images would prove the theory of original diversity, later called “polygenesis,” and that the slaves were of a different species that was inferior to his own. According to newspapers, Agassiz brought the daguerreotypes to a meeting of the Cambridge Scientific Club in autumn 1850, but the lack of records about what happened next suggests that they were probably not well received. Agassiz never published the images and they seemed to disappear.
In 1976, Peabody Museum staff were rummaging through storage for back issues of museum publications in a remote attic near the front of the museum. Chancing upon a wooden cabinet tucked under the eaves, they opened a drawer. There, they saw a number of small flat cases neatly laid out. As they carefully unlatched and raised the lids, they immediately realized they had found something unusual. While one researcher ran downstairs to tell their colleagues, the other stayed behind to guard the daguerreotypes. It was “mind boggling,” said then publications assistant Lorna Condon, in an interview with the author. There was great excitement as the staff speculated, “How did they get there? And who were these people?”
The people they saw were identified by name — Alfred, Delia, Drana, Fassena, Jack, Jem and Renty — on handwritten paper labels. Although nothing linked the daguerreotypes directly to Louis Agassiz, museum paperwork indicated that they had been moved to the Peabody Museum in 1935 from Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ), which Agassiz had founded in the 1850s. The images had been given museum accession numbers, and the collector was tentatively listed as Alexander Agassiz, Louis’s son and his successor as director of the MCZ.
Under the supervision of Elinor Reichlin, the Peabody’s registrar, the staff looked for more clues.
The red velvet lining of the cases’ interiors bore the floral stamp of “J. T. Zealy, Columbia, S.C.,” the images’ photographer. In addition, there were small paper labels attached to the cases that gave the subjects’ names, their supposed ethnicities and some of their occupations. Once these led to Alexander’s father, Louis, and to their supposed scientific purpose, it was clear to Reichlin and the museum staff that the significance of these images would not and could not be what the original producers had intended.
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Unknown photographer, The Peabody Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts, March 1901. Glass-plate collodion. Image courtesy of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, 2004.24.1828. |
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The discovery was announced in June 1977, in newspapers around the country, including the New York Times and the Boston Globe; in the Associated Press news service; and in an American Heritage article penned by Reichlin. They are among the earliest images of enslaved people in the United States.
As 20th and 21st century scholars, including the authors of the book, To Make Their Own Way in the World: The Enduring Legacy of the Zealy Daguerreotypes (Aperture/Peabody Museum Press: 2020), began to discover these daguerreotypes for themselves, they used them in scholarly writings, newspapers, magazines, websites, art works and documentaries to examine race, racism, slavery, photography, gender, power, the body and anthropology.
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Newbury Newbie
History – It's in the Cards...guest blog by Kristen Fehlhaber
In the spring of 2010, my partner and I and our 6-year-old son were new to the area. We’d just bought an early 1800s store-converted-to-house in Georgetown. We met the previous owners and an older man who grew up in the house. We were charmed. And then the spring rains came. We had thought the basement was surprisingly neat and clean when we moved in and we used it for storing some extra items. Big mistake. The Georgetown Fire Department came to help us pump out when we had a few feet of water and told us that they knew the cellar well. Had we been from the area – had we been “townies” – maybe we would have known or been warned. But as it was, we just had to live and learn.
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Our Leo taking advantage of the flooding in Georgetown, MA - March 2010. Courtesy image. |
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After the rain stopped, among the things that had to dry out was a collection of old postcards.
I’d been given them six years before. It was Christmas and we’d flown to my hometown of San Francisco with our three-month old son Leo, named after my mother’s father, Leo Joseph Mullen (1905-1984).
Not long after arriving, my father, with a hard-to-read look on his face, handed me a box and said, “I think these are for you.”
I opened the box and he began to tell me about a family member that I’d never heard of.
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I learned that my paternal grandmother had a brother who died at age 14 after a long illness. The boy received postcards while he was sick and this was his collection.
I’d spent a whole summer in Illinois at age 13 with Grandma Marjorie and never did she mention this brother (I’m guessing that it was too upsetting for her). So, unbeknownst to me, there was another Leo in the family - Leo Augustine Newell (1898 -1912). My dad had brought the postcards to California in 1989 after his mother died and they’d sat there for nearly 15 years, waiting for their next home.
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Among the postcards was this photo postcard. Ralph, Leo and Marjorie Newell – about 1910; Ashland, Illinois. Courtesy image. |
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Fast forward to 2021 and I find myself working at the Museum of Old Newbury, owner of a fantastic postcard collection. Recently, while searching the collection, I came across this image.
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Postcard of Plum Island. From the collections of Museum of Old Newbury. |
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It’s a place almost everyone will know – the main intersection on Plum Island. The road to Newburyport is on the left and we’re looking up the street toward the north, toward Plum Island Light. Looking closely at this photo, I wondered if I could identify the year it was taken.
The first clue was obvious – the card was postmarked August 2, 1948 and had a message:
"Dear Kay – Wish you and Donnie would come down and spend the day and have Don come down for supper. Have him come right from work. Call John the day before and let me know when you are coming. Hope everything is O.K. Love Molly”
The postcard was the text message of its day and I love the glimpse it gives into these lives. Clearly, there was no phone at Molly’s Plum Island cottage; I could research the recipient and find out what became of Don Jr., but that’s not what I’m looking for. Was the photo from 1948 or from a year or two before? And why all the traffic?
With the technology we now have in our hands and the information available online, there’s never been a better time to learn about the past. Many smartphones have a magnifying feature. With my iPhone, I triple-click and zoom in to look at some of the people.
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Detail of postcard of Plum Island. From the collections of Museum of Old Newbury. |
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Two boys look like they are straight out of “On the Road,” while a woman and child are heading toward the street. For ice cream at the small stand? Or for a frappe at the big place on the corner? If I posted the photo on Newburyport History Buffs on Facebook, I might find someone who remembers the businesses. A search of old phone directories could also reveal the business names. But I’m not going down that rabbit hole – I’m trying to figure out when the photo was taken.
If you don’t know this already, one of the things that makes the Newbury area such a great place to do research is the Archival Center at the Newburyport Public Library. For the at-home researcher, their digital newspaper archive is amazing. At your fingertips, you have newspapers from 1773 to 1963, with no login and no fees. Grants and fundraising make this incredible resource possible and free for all.
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Detail of postcard of Plum Island. From the collections of Museum of Old Newbury. |
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The car with the placard on top looks interesting. Zooming in, I can just make out “Penny Sale” and “Fireworks.” Searching for those words in the newspaper archive, I found a match.
For the Fourth of July in 1948, that car (a 1948 Dodge) was the grand prize in the American Legion fundraiser. If you follow the link, you can read about the winner, who worked at Kent Shoe (formerly Mayfair Shoe) at 1 Charles Street, in the old James Steam Mill building.
The drawing was supposed to happen on Thursday, July 1, but it was delayed due to weather until the 2nd. Given all the cars, my guess is that the photo was taken July 1 or 2, 1948. The photo was printed as a postcard and used a month later when Molly wrote to Kay.
Whether you are researching your house, your neighborhood, your family or an object you purchased, there’s never been a better time to do it. Even a Californian like me can make headway into this New England history. Happy hunting!
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Learn about upcoming programs, register, find Zoom links and catch up on previous presentations here. All of our virtual programs are free, however donations are gratefully accepted to help defray speaker fees.
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Race & Slavery in New England Symposium
The Governor's Academy, One Elm Street, Byfield, Mass.
In-Person or Virtual Event
Writers and historians will bring various views and expertise to a scrutiny of New England's deep involvement in slavery. Engage in-person (or virtually) with complex issues of race and slavery in New England, from colonial times to just after the Civil War.
This is an in-person event. On-site ticket limit: 200.
Made possible by the generous support of The Governor's Academy, First Religious Society, Eastern Bank, Historic New England and Newburyport Bank.
• For admittance to the in-person symposium, proof of vaccination and a photo ID must be presented at the on-site registration table, and in-person attendees are required to wear masks indoors. Masks will be available.
• The Governor's Academy reserves the right to cancel the event, at its discretion, for reasons of health & safety concerning the coronavirus.
Fees include all presentations, lunch (with vegetarian/non-vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options), hot and cold refreshments throughout the day and access to all recordings.
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The Zealy Daguerreotypes: Research, Writing and Collaboration
Virtual Event
Ilisa Barbash, curator of visual anthropology at Harvard’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, will discuss the research and work behind the production of the book To Make Their Own Way in the World: The Enduring Legacy of the Zealy Daguerreotypes (Aperture/Peabody Museum Press 2020), which features essays by prominent scholars from the disciplines of history, anthropology, art history and American studies.
The book is a profound consideration of some of the most challenging images in the history of photography: 15 daguerreotypes of Alfred, Delia, Drana, Fassena, Jack, Jem and Renty—men and women of African descent who were enslaved in South Carolina. Made in 1850 by photographer Joseph T. Zealy for Harvard professor Louis Agassiz, the daguerreotypes were rediscovered at the Peabody Museum in 1976. This talk will highlight some of its various topics, including the identities of the seven people depicted in the daguerreotypes, the close relationship between photography and race in the 19th century, and the ways contemporary artists have used the daguerreotypes to critique institutional racism in the 20th and 21st centuries.
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Cradle to Grave: Lamplight Tour of Coffin House, Swett-Ilsley House & First Parish Burying Ground
Coffin House, 14 High Road, Newbury, Mass.
In-Person Event
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Spend an evening getting to know the Coffin family and their neighbors in their home and in their final resting places. Enjoy special evening tours of Coffin House (1678) and Swett-Ilsley House (1670), and visit the townsfolk across the street in the First Parish Burying Ground.
Join Museum of Old Newbury's Executive Director, Bethany Groff Dorau, as she and others share true tales of murder, heroism and heartbreak from Newbury’s storied past.
Click on the link below to purchase tickets. Museum of Old Newbury members save $10. Please call 978-462-2634 for more information.
In Partnership with Historic New England.
To activate discount, after clicking box below, use code "MOON" for Museum of Old Newbury member price. Enter in top left corner of screen and hit submit. Discount applied at checkout.
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Puzzle Me This...
Tea for Two
Tea caddies (decorative containers used to store tea) were produced in myriad forms from small porcelain jars to small silver containers, rosewood and satinwood boxes, black lacquer boxes from China and fruitwood caddies in the shape of apples and pears.
The museum has several examples in its collections. The tea caddy pictured here dates from the late eighteenth century and is an example of Oriental export porcelain.
From the collections of the Museum of Old Newbury. Image credit: Bob Watts
Click on image to begin.
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Something is Always Cooking at the Museum
This easy appetizer from Katie Haried is perfect for a fall evening watching the sun set or hanging with pals for a football game.
Blue Cheese Dip with Onion
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
1 cup crumbled blue cheese (about 3 1/2 ounces)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat until blended. Transfer to a serving bowl. Cover and chill at least 1 hour or up to 3 days. Serve with celery sticks or other crudités. Serves many.
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No two days are the same here at the Museum of Old Newbury. Sometimes we get to take a couple of centuries-old gentlemen for a stroll in the garden. Shown here, Assistant Director Kristen Fehlhaber with Ebenezer Bradbury (left) and Executive Director Bethany Groff Dorau with Captain Stephen Poor Bray. Don't worry, we brought them home by curfew!
Editor's note: thanks to MOON board member and photographer Bob Watts for capturing the fun.
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During this difficult period of COVID-19, we rely on your support more than ever. We continue to develop new, online programs for you to enjoy and keep us connected and look forward to in-person events as protocols for safety loosen. We hope, if you are able, that you will consider a donation to the museum. Thank you for your continued support.
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Museum of Old Newbury
98 High Street
Newburyport, MA 01950
978-462-2681
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