Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Photograph Said to Be Taken During a Slave Auction in the Cheapside Area of Lexington, Kentucky (1862)


Photograph said to be taken during a slave auction in the Cheapside area of Lexington, Kentucky, c. 1861-1862. The man standing on a platform in the center waving his arms looks as though he is an auctioneer. The bovine in the left background might suggest that the photo actually depicts a livestock auction, although Cheapside was the location of a slave market in the period. Originally published in the book Slavery Times in Kentucky by John Winston Coleman.

Source: New York Public Library.
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Monday, July 2, 2018

A Group Playing a Game of Faro in the Orient Saloon in Bisbee, Arizona (1900)


A group playing a game of faro in the Orient Saloon in Bisbee, Arizona, c. 1900. By photographer C. S. Fly. The men are identified as: "Left to right - Tony Downs (standing with derby) part owner; Doyle, a concert hall singer at corner of table, sitting, with derby; back of him standing is Dutch Kid; Sleepy Dick, the porter, to right with light felt; Charlie Bassett, with soft felt hat in rear next to wall; dealer is Johnny Murphy, and Smiley Lewis in silk hat."

Source: National Archives and Records Administration.