William Headley
c. 1864
American 19th Century
Artist
Artwork overview
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Medium
albumen silver print (carte-de-visite)
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Credit Line
Ross J. Kelbaugh Collection, Purchased with support from the Ford Foundation
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Dimensions
image/sheet: 9 × 5.5 cm (3 9/16 × 2 3/16 in.)
mount: 10.1 × 6.1 cm (4 × 2 3/8 in.) -
Accession Number
2023.39.56
Artwork history & notes
Provenance
Horace James. Ross Kelbaugh, Marriottsville, MD; NGA purchase, 2023.
Associated Names
Inscriptions
on verso, by Horace James, center in black ink: William Headley a contraband / from a plantation near / Raleigh N.C. arrived at / Newberne N.C. on the 20th May / 1864 having been six weeks on / the road neither sleeping or / eating in a house during the time. Two others left with / him but were caught by / the slave holders Blood Hound [crossed out] / Hounds and either killed or taken back. He was weak and / nearly famished when he arrived. / His clothes were of many colors and / qualities. His cloak consisted of / an old cotton grain bag. Slit / open on one side and raveled. / Which gives the appearance of rich [?] fringe. / He appeared perfectly happy / and satisfied upon reaching the / Union lines and is now / one of the best hands / working on Fr. Chase / N.C. / June 18, 1864; by Ross Kelbaugh, bottom right in graphite: AF30C