I purchased this pair from a favorite dealer in Cohoes, NY, who always has lots of interesting photographs. They are early Kodaks, c. 1890s/very early 1900s I believe. On the back of one is written "SC" and on the other, the lower photo in first image, "Negro cabin, SC".
I must say that I was first struck by them formally--the composition of the first one, with wooden pole a perfect vertical in the foreground echoed by the pipe rising tall from the shed and trail of smoke rising from behind it; all those piles of logs, the very vernacular construction of the structures, etc; and the almost eerie light and shadows of the second. As documents of rural South Carolina in the late 19th/early 20th century, closely following the passage of Jim Crow laws in the 1880s that were especially severe there, they are also very much charged with the history and legacy of American slavery.
Each 5 1/4" x 4 1/4". Good condition, very minor curling, and a few small stains/scuffs to the surface of the second one. Sold as a pair.
You might also like
