VINTAGE 1800s PHOTO -- CHILDREN'S CLOTHES AND QUILTS

barbara judge's photo collection

Taken in the latter part of the 1800's, this vintage photo can tell you much about fashion as well as a certain type of quilt pattern that was part of the material culture at the time. The children are dressed to the "t" in undoubtedly early machine stitched clothing or even possibly hand sewn? The young boy has some type of straps on his long stockings, perhaps to keep them from slipping down his legs?

Perhaps the quilt, that was draped over the chairs was of special importance? Could it be one that was created for the photo taking session or perhaps made by a relative that the family loved? What stories can you conjure up in your mind with the various clues in this photo?

It was common to have photos taken outside as appropriate lighting was not available inside. One often finds old photos taken outside during this time period - usually taken by itinerant photographers who traveled the countryside. The background appears to be some type of canvas drop? 

Quilts have always fascinated me. Especially the old ones. June Calender's blog discusses many types of quilts that she either creates or visits at quilt shows. Her latest adventure with quilts is teaching the History of Quilts at her local Academy of Lifelong Learning. Also visit Mary's blog about her many quilt projects and then take a look at Kyra's Black Threads blog that features both old and new quilts and their creators. 

A neat way to date vintage photos is to examine its fabrics (if there are any) using a book on old fabrics for comparison.This will give you a close approximation of its date. Here is a reasonable priced book that can identify fabrics and their dates of manufacture, Dating Fabrics, a Color Guide - 1800 to 1960. Also a good book on early printed fabrics is one by Barbara Brachman. 

AMERICA'S GREAT BLACK MIGRATION

Caflin University, in the photo above, opened in 1869 in south Carolina, four years after the Civil War ended. It represented one of several small new independent beginnings for African Americans in the United States. Although the slaves were theoretically free after the war they were in reality not free in southern states. The intent of white southerns was to form a caste system labeled the Jim Crow laws that kept blacks in servitude which closely replicated the former slave days. If they stepped outside the Jim Crow boundary lines, the results were often death by hanging or being burnt alive. Fear ruled the southern blacks. A fear that eventually caused a reaction.

THE WARMTH OF OTHER SUNS: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson is a profound book documenting the story of the movement of the southern blacks to the northern and western parts of our country. This migration was the reaction by blacks to the Jim Crow caste system according to the author.

In her book she says that this movement just grew naturally and individually – eventually into thousands of blacks packing and leaving the south. This "leaving" began to hurt the south in unexpected ways. The labor pool for housekeepers, sharecroppers and such became scarce and had an effect on the already weak southern economy after the civil war. If you were black and thinking about leaving you didn’t mention it. Here is a quote from her book:

There is no mistaking

what is going on;

it is a regular exodus.

It is without head, tail, or leadership.

Its greatest factor is momentum,

and this is increasing,

despite amazing efforts on the part

of white Southerners to stop it.

People are leaving their homes

and everything about them,

under the cover of night,

as though they were going

on a day’s journey –

leaving forever.

The Cleveland Advocate

April 28, 1917

Isabel Wilkerson peels back the layers of this mighty migration revealing the magnitude of it during the years of 1915 through 1970. 

 She employs the narratives of migratory blacks from this period. 

Her documentation is precise and through.

Wilkerson seems to spell out the real reason for leaving was not so much that jobs were available in the north and west but rather the “leavers” were trying to escape the caste system of the south.

Blacks fled to urban destinations outside the south beyond the reach of Jim Crow.  We can find an example of the population impact when we look at the changing number of blacks in Chicago which grew from about 44,103 to over one million by the end of this great migration

I recommend this book highly as another part of our history that has been under wraps for way too long.