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Figure 1

Citation

anonymous photographer. “Anonymous woman.” 1870s. Gregory Fried Collection. Mirror of Race, 22 Jan. 2021, mirrorofrace.bc.edu/items/show/100. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Title

Anonymous woman

Subject

Anonymous woman

Creator

anonymous photographer

Date

1870s

Type

Studio Portrait

Identifier

Figure 1

Rights Holder

Gregory Fried Collection

Original Format

Tintype

Factual Commentary

There is something touching about this image of a young woman — just a girl, really — in a traditional, local European costume, waving an American flag as she comes ashore in an elaborate studio prop of a rowboat. It is as if she had rowed herself over from Europe to America. In this naïve hopefulness, she seems embody the most positive aspirations of the waves of millions of immigrants who came from Europe in the latter part of the 19th century. If any viewer can identify what region her costume comes from, we would like to hear from you.