Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1905-03-03
SUED BY coLoRED MINISTER.

The first suit under the new Virginia
statute making it unlawful for person
or frm toipublish person picture with
out hts consent will come up at the
present term Of the Ian aud equity court
of Richmond.
The suit was brought on behalf or j.
H. A. Cyrus (colored) against the Bos-
ton Chemical Company for s., 600 dam
ages.
Unusual interest attaches to this suit,
as the decisioin will affect newspaper
publishers and advertisers in very vital
matter The statute under which it was
brought prohibits the publication of a
persons photograph for commercial pur-
poses, and might be construed to pro-
hibit the publication of a picture in the
news columns, even in connection with
an obituary notice though John Gar
land Pollard, who annotated the new
Virginia code, expresses the opinion that
the purpose of the author of the statute
was simply to prevent the unauthorized
use Of PERSONS picture for advertising
purposes in the strict sense in which that
expression is employed.
The following extract from the declara-
ton filed in the case indicates the par
ticular grounds upoh which the suit is
brought:
"Fhat < the said defendants,
who are the owners, makers and sellers
OF certain preparation called Ozone,
whose chief virtue is its alleged wonder
full power 'to cause the hair to grow long
and straight, soft and fine, and as beau
tiful as an April morning. upon colored
people; that the said defendants were ex-
tensive advertisers of this preparation,
and ou the days and timer aforesaid OBJ
tanned photograph of the plaintiff and
from it had cuts made of the plaintiff,
and inserted the said likeness of the
plaintiff in their advertisements, and in
serted alongside ofit-at the same time
and 10 the same publication picture
claimed to be that of the same man after
using the said remedy, Ozone, which
last picture so resembled the plaintiff
than any person could see that the said
picture was also intended as pictnre or
likeness of the plaintiff after using the
said preparation; and that the plaintiff
is a regular ordained minister OF the gOs-
pei, and as such has been elected treas
urer of the national Baptist convention Of
the United States"
Proceeding, the declaration charges
that the likeness of the plaintiff was in.
serted as an advertisement 10 the "Col-
ored American, the Richmond Planet"
and the "New York Age" A copy Of
one of the advertisements from the 'Col-
orel American" is inserted. 1t shows,
in one picture a man whose hair is
"kinked'' and the label underneath it.
| "Before;" and in companion picture,
the face of the same man, whose hair.
however, isstrais sht or slightly curly, and
the inscription underneath it, "After. "
The declaration then continues: ''That
said publication of said advertisements
tends to belittle the plaintiff and causes
his friends to question him about it, and
to wonder why his hair is not straight,
and why the "kinks" have not been re-
moved from his hair, and many such an
noying questions, and many of them sup.
pose and believe, as we'll as do many OF
his acquaintance and and strangers,
that the said plaintiff for some base mo-
tive and for money, has sold the use OF
his name and picture to aid the deien.
dants in their scheme Of deception and
imposture, in selling worthless and
useless preparation. "
The declaration also says that the
plaintiffs honesty and reputation as a
minister, which heretofore has never
been questioned has been generally and
largely discussed on account of the publi-
cations, to his disadvantage.