Photograph portraits of Josephine Sampson
date: label: Date
content: 1910s
name: label: Photograph by
content: Charles E. Kerfoot, American, 1870 - 1937
label: Subject of
content: Josephine Sampson, American
notes: label: Description
content: A strip of five black-and-white photographs of Josephine Sampson in a cardboard frame. The strip depicts five bust pose shots of Sampson in various poses and with assorted props. She is wearing the same outfit in all five images: a fitted white blouse with a high, round collar, a small brooch at the center of her collar, and a collar length necklace with small metal disks dangling from the chain. Sampson’s hair is pulled back and secured with a silk bow at the nape, leaving loose curls at the top. In the image on the far left, the woman is facing the viewer, with a serious expression on her face, and wearing a mortarboard cap. She is looking into the distance to upwards and slightly to the right. In the photograph second from the left, the woman is facing the viewer, smiling broadly, and tilting her head slightly towards her proper right shoulder. She is holding a fan in front of her chin and she is wearing a frilly cartwheel hat on her head. The center photograph depicts the women are looking at the viewer, with her head and shoulders slightly tilted towards her proper right side, and with a half-smile on her face. She is wearing a small black fascinator with white feathers on her crown, and she is standing in front of an American flag. In the photograph second from the right, the woman is depicted in a relaxed pose, with her head tilted slightly towards her proper right shoulder and her hands laced behind her head. She has a playful expression with a half-smile on her face. She is wearing a black fascinator with white feathers on her crown and black kid gloves with white trim. In the photograph on the far right, the woman is depicted with her head slightly tilted towards her proper left shoulder and wearing a soft but serious expression on her face. The strip is mounted inside a black cardboard frame with a series of five tablet shaped photo windows that divide the photos on the strips into individual photos. There is a rectangular, floral, embossed band around the images and the rest of the frame has thin, embossed vertical stripes. An embossed photographer’s stamp in the bottom right corner reads [C.E. Kerfoot / 805 PENN AVE. N.W. / WASHINGTON, D.C.]. There is a large loss at the bottom left corner of the frame and a small surface loss at the top left corner. The back of the frame is gray, and a piece of cream colored paper covers the back of the photos. Handwritten in pencil on the paper is the text [[J?]essie Jessie and Katherine from your / sister Josephine [---?] Sampson]. The backing has slightly torn, and the back of the photograph strip is partially visible. Over the bottom of the paper backing is a line of brown adhesive.
place: label: Place captured
content: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Photography
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Photographs and Still Images
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of James M. Baxter
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2021.13.12
objectType: label: Type
content: frames (furnishings)
label: Type
content: gelatin silver prints
label: Type
content: portraits
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Public domain
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper on cardboard
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (Mounted): 5 × 9 1/16 in. (12.7 × 23 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (Image): 1 3/16 × 5 1/4 in. (3 × 13.3 cm)