The White Slave
Dublin Core
Title
The White Slave
Subject
anti-slavery
California
slavery
Stereograph
photography
California
slavery
Stereograph
photography
Description
This is a photograph of a white child shining a black man’s shoes. It was used in the anti-slavery movement in California to evoke sympathy and show how inhumane slavery was. Although bonded labour was deemed illegal in the state laws, there were loopholes which meant that some individuals still practiced slavery.
In the background of the composite image, are various newspaper headlines with the words ‘white slave’ being the most prominent. It is a manipulated photograph because the bottom edge is square, but the top is curved – wet-plate processed pictures of the 1860s were typically square.
Lawrence and Houseworth were photographic practitioners who invested in the new technology of the late nineteenth-century, after their economic failure in the Gold Rush. Their stereographic pictures of the Californian landscape were often used to attract tourists.
In the background of the composite image, are various newspaper headlines with the words ‘white slave’ being the most prominent. It is a manipulated photograph because the bottom edge is square, but the top is curved – wet-plate processed pictures of the 1860s were typically square.
Lawrence and Houseworth were photographic practitioners who invested in the new technology of the late nineteenth-century, after their economic failure in the Gold Rush. Their stereographic pictures of the Californian landscape were often used to attract tourists.
Creator
Lawrence & Houseworth, San Francisco, California
Publisher
California State Library: California History Section Picture Catalogue
https://calisphere.org/item/c061054db503bb21b24f33cb75bd2643/
https://calisphere.org/item/c061054db503bb21b24f33cb75bd2643/
Date
1863
Contributor
Leah Guy
Rights
California State Library
https://calisphere.org/
https://calisphere.org/
Language
English
Type
Visual - photograph
Identifier
19th century California
Files
Collection
Citation
Lawrence & Houseworth, San Francisco, California , “The White Slave,” The American Pacific Rim: Colonisation, Conflict and Connections, 1800-Present, accessed May 4, 2024, https://theamericanpacificrim.omeka.net/items/show/173.