Figure 8

Citation

Myron H. Kimball (New York). “Isaac and Rosa.” 1863. Greg French Collection. Mirror of Race, 11 Feb. 2021, mirrorofrace.bc.edu/items/show/147. Accessed 18 May 2024.

Title

Isaac and Rosa

Subject

Isaac and Rosa

Creator

Myron H. Kimball (New York)

Date

1863

Type

Studio Portrait

Identifier

Figure 8

Rights Holder

Greg French Collection

Original Format

carte de visite, albumen print

Factual Commentary

Isaac White and Rosina Downs pose in this portrait. The subtitle of the caption calls them “Emancipated slave Children, from the Free Schools of Louisiana,” emphasizing both the political reality of the effects of the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863 and the policy goal of educating the now free people of the occupied territory of the Confederacy. Once again, the photographer, in this case Myron H. Kimball, has sought to produce a shock by placing a matching pair of the “blackest” and the “whitest” of the children together.