Figure071

Citation

Moore Brothers (American). “Zublia Aggolia.” 1870s. Gregory Fried Collection. Mirror of Race, 11 Feb. 2021, mirrorofrace.bc.edu/items/show/265. Accessed 30 Apr. 2024.

Title

Zublia Aggolia

Subject

Zublia Aggolia

Creator

Moore Brothers (American)

Date

1870s

Type

studio portrait, commercial/circus performer

Identifier

Figure071

Rights Holder

Gregory Fried Collection

Original Format

carte de visite: albumen print

Physical Dimensions

cdv standard

Factual Commentary

Inscribed in period pencil at the top of the back of the card: “Zublia Aggolia, Circassian Lady”; and then along the right side: “H. M. Hill.” H. M. Hill was probably the collector who first bought the card. The printed stamp on reverse of card reads: “Moore Brothers, Opposite Court Square, Springfield, Mass.” This is probably the maker’s mark of Hiram Charles Moore and C. L. Moore. Hiram Moore began his career as an ambrotypist and daguerreotypist in Boston in 1858, moving to Springfield, MA in 1859.

Although no further information about Zublia Aggolia in particular has been found, the “Circassian Lady” was a type of performer that became very popular in circuses and sideshows, starting in the 1860s and continuing until around the turn of the century.

Based on the style of the carte de visite and the woman’s clothing, we can date this photograph to some time in the 1870s.

For further discussion, see the Interpretive Commentary page.

For a subsidiary exhibition of people whose bodies challeges the expectations of the period, please follow this link

Interpretive Commentary

For an analysis of this and similar images, see the article on the Essays page entitled "A Freakish Whiteness: The Circassian Lady as Sideshow Spectacle."

Alternative Title

Collection

Mirror of Race