Figure041

Citation

Unknown Photographer Photographer. “four men and a revolver.” circa 1885. Greg French Collection. Mirror of Race, 11 Feb. 2021, mirrorofrace.bc.edu/items/show/261. Accessed 30 Apr. 2024.

Title

four men and a revolver

Subject

unknown

Creator

Unknown Photographer Photographer

Date

circa 1885

Type

studio portrait

Identifier

Figure041

Rights Holder

Greg French Collection

Original Format

tintype

Physical Dimensions

Half Plate (4.25 x 5.5 inches)

Factual Commentary

The African American man in the center of this photograph holds a large Remington revolver, probably of Civil War vintage, although this image is from later in the century. Unfortunately, we know nothing more about the identities of these men or the circumstances of the photograph.

Interpretive Commentary

This enigmatic photograph raises many questions.

What are these three white men doing with the one black man? Why is the African American man displaying a revolver, and why is he the only one armed, a reversal of the usual power dynamic between the races in the period? The white men seem to be friendly with the black one ― the man at the right with a cigar smiles broadly and has his arm over the the central figure’s shoulder, and he seems to be smiling, too.

But there is also something menacing about the pose: the white men surround and hem in the black man, and the man at the right seems more to be leering than embracing him. Perhaps the joke is a cruel one: a sarcastic reversal of the power dynamic that is just that ― a joke.

Alternative Title

Collection

Mirror of Race