Free Downloads Picturing Frederick Douglass: An Illustrated Biography Of The Nineteenth Century's Most Photographed American
A landmark and collectible volume―beautifully produced in duotone―that canonizes Frederick Douglass through historic photography.Picturing Frederick Douglass is a work that promises to revolutionize our knowledge of race and photography in nineteenth-century America. Teeming with historical detail, it is filled with surprises, chief among them the fact that neither George Custer nor Walt Whitman, and not even Abraham Lincoln, was the most photographed American of that century. In fact, it was Frederick Douglass (1818–1895), the ex-slave turned leading abolitionist, eloquent orator, and seminal writer whose fiery speeches transformed him into one of the most renowned and popular agitators of his age. Now, as a result of the groundbreaking research of John Stauffer, Zoe Trodd, and Celeste-Marie Bernier, Douglass emerges as a leading pioneer in photography, both as a stately subject and as a prescient theorist who believed in the explosive social power of what was then just a nascent art form.Indeed, Frederick Douglass was in love with photography. During the four years of Civil War, he wrote more extensively on the subject than any other American, even while recognizing that his audiences were "riveted" by the war and wanted a speech only on "this mighty struggle." He frequented photographers’ studios regularly and sat for his portrait whenever he could. To Douglass, photography was the great "democratic art" that would finally assert black humanity in place of the slave "thing" and at the same time counter the blackface minstrelsy caricatures that had come to define the public perception of what it meant to be black. As a result, his legacy is inseparable from his portrait gallery, which contains 160 separate photographs.At last, all of these photographs have been collected into a single volume, giving us an incomparable visual biography of a man whose prophetic vision and creative genius knew no bounds. Chronologically arranged and generously captioned, from the first picture taken in around 1841 to the last in 1895, each of the images―many published here for the first time―emphasizes Douglass's evolution as a man, artist, and leader. Also included are other representations of Douglass during his lifetime and after―such as paintings, statues, and satirical cartoons―as well as Douglass’s own writings on visual aesthetics, which have never before been transcribed from his own handwritten drafts.The comprehensive introduction by the authors, along with headnotes for each section, an essay by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and an afterword by Kenneth B. Morris, Jr.―a direct Douglass descendent―provide the definitive examination of Douglass's intellectual, philosophical, and political relationships to aesthetics. Taken together, this landmark work canonizes Frederick Douglass through a form he appreciated the most: photography.Featuring:Contributions from Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Kenneth B. Morris, Jr. (a direct Douglass descendent)160 separate photographs of Douglass―many of which have never been publicly seen and were long lost to historyA collection of contemporaneous artwork that shows how powerful Douglass’s photographic legacy remains today, over a century after his deathAll Douglass’s previously unpublished writings and speeches on visual aesthetics 317 illustrations
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Liveright; 1 edition (November 2, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0871404680
ISBN-13: 978-0871404688
Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 1 x 12.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #119,954 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #67 in Books > Arts & Photography > Photography & Video > History #73 in Books > History > Americas > United States > Civil War > Abolition #82 in Books > History > Americas > United States > African Americans > History
In "Picturing Frederick Douglass: An Illustrated Biography of the Nineteenth Century's Most Photographed American", authors John Stauffer, Zoe Trodd, and Celeste-Marie Bernier argue "the photographs are then a kind of visual autobiography. If Douglass wrote himself into public existence with his narratives, he also photographed himself into public existence, evolving across the years as a freedom fighter, steely visionary, wise prophet, and elder statesman" (p. xxv). Stauffer, Trodd, and Bernier organize their work into five parts: the photographs themselves, contemporary artwork based on or used in place of photographs, the photographic legacy, Douglass's writings on photography, and a catalogue raisonné.In the first part, Stauffer, Trodd, and Bernier present the photographs chronologically with annotations about the photographers or similar photographs for which Douglass sat. They include with the photographs etchings based on them for newsprint, which nineteenth century readers considered as accurate as original photographs. The images show the transformation in Douglass's public image and demonstrate Douglass's own beliefs regarding photography.Both the contemporary artwork and photographic legacy parts focus on artwork that used Douglass to send a message. The contemporary artwork became more lifelike over time, likely due to the proliferation of Douglass's photographs and a demand for accurate representations from consumers who now knew his true appearance without the filter of an artist. The modern artwork, appearing around the United States and in Ireland, uses Douglass's photographs as inspiration for murals, statues, stamps, and other public pieces.
Picturing Frederick Douglass: An Illustrated Biography of the Nineteenth Century's Most Photographed American Frederick Douglass : Autobiographies : Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave / My Bondage and My Freedom / Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (Library of America) Frederick's Journey: The Life of Frederick Douglass (Big Words) Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass: The Story Behind an American Friendship Frederick Douglass and the Abolitionist Movement (Jr. Graphic African American History) Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave: (Library of America Paperback Classic) Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (Barnes & Noble Classics) Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself (Norton Critical Editions) Houses of Civil War America: The Homes of Robert E. Lee, Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, Clara Barton, and Others Who Shaped the Era Who Was Frederick Douglass? Friends for Freedom: The Story of Susan B. Anthony & Frederick Douglass Words Set Me Free: The Story of Young Frederick Douglass (Paula Wiseman Books) The Radical and the Republican: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the Triumph of Antislavery Politics The Classic Slave Narratives: The Life of Olaudah Equiano / The History of Mary Prince / Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass American Illustration 14 (American Illustration Great Big Book of Fun): Over 200 Original Works, Photographed & Reproduced in the latest Color Effects at Tremdnmendous Expense Frederick Law Olmsted: Plans and Views of Public Parks (The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted) Infinite Space: Contemporary Residential Architecture and Interiors Photographed by James Silverman Nineteenth-Century Music (California Studies in 19th-Century Music)
