Ambrotype of Elisa Greenwell with handwritten note
date: label: Date
content: early 1860s
name: label: Photograph by
content: Unidentified
label: Subject of
content: Elisa Greenwell, American
notes: label: Description
content: A black-and-white photograph of Elisa Greenwell (a) accompanied by a handwritten paper note with identifying information (b). In the photograph, Greenwell is seated and faces the camera directly, with her right elbow propped on a table and both hands resting in her lap. Her hair is pinned up at the back of her head. She wears a light-colored dress with a large-scale plaid pattern, white lace collar and stock, and a dark-colored shawl draped over her shoulders. Her cheeks and lips are hand-tinted in a pinkish hue and a spot of gilt is placed over a pin worn at her center front neck. The ambrotype is housed in one half of a wooden case with a papier-mâché cover in a floral design and painted black. The glass plate is surrounded by a gold metal frame with an oval-shaped cut out. A metal hook for fastening the case to the missing lid is present on the right side of the case.
label: Description
content: The accompanying loose paper note (b) has handwritten text in black ink reading: "Elisa Greenwell resident of Philadelphia / runaway from the residence of / William Edelen of Leondardtown Md / in 1859". The reverse is blank.
place: label: Place depicted
content: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America
label: Place depicted
content: Leonardtown, St. Mary's County, Maryland, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Emancipation
label: Topic
content: Freedom
label: Topic
content: Fugitive enslaved
label: Topic
content: Photography
label: Topic
content: Resistance
label: Topic
content: Self-liberation
label: Topic
content: Slavery
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Slavery and Freedom Objects
label: Classification
content: Photographs and Still Images
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2015.97.4ab
objectType: label: Type
content: ambrotypes
label: Type
content: portraits
label: Type
content: notes
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: No Known Copyright Restrictions
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: cased photograph (a): collodion and silver on glass photographic plates, with wood, papier-mâché, and metal case;
label: Medium
content: note (b): ink on paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (a): 3 11/16 × 3 1/4 × 7/16 in. (9.4 × 8.3 × 1.1 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (b): 3/4 × 2 13/16 in. (1.9 × 7.1 cm)