Hidden Witness

As slaves, African Americans were virtually invisible to history. Even after the Civil War there were not many African American photographers and very few people had the time, money or freedom to sit for a portrait. Consequently only a few hundred such pictures have survived from that time to bear witness to African Americans and the lives they led. Jackie Wilson has assembled a comprehensive collection of such images into one volume. The daguerreotypes and tintypes shown here present these men and women in situations and attire that brings the truth of their daily lives much closer to us. Scenes of maternal affection, matrimony, war and the grim realities of the master/slave relationship help focus perceptions of the African American experience in the US.