Beschreibung:

Lot of 4 sixth plate daguerreotypes in 3 full leather cases, including portrait of a man identified on the silk lining as Dr. Gedney; individual portraits of a husband and wife housed in the same case; and a portrait of a young, African American nanny and her white charge. Although the group lacks provenance regarding Dr. Gedney and his family, Ancestry.com cites a "Dr. William H. Gedney," of Orange County, NY, who established and successfully ran a medical practice in Ulster County, NY from 1807 until his death in 1849, at the age of 64. A reference to a slave owner identified as "Dr. Gedney" can be found in the Narrative of Sojourner Truth, a Northern Slave, published in 1850. The biography, as dictated by Sojourner Truth, discusses an incident in which her 5-year-old son was sold illegally by one of her old masters to a "Dr. Gedney, who took him as far as New York city, on his way to England; but finding the boy too small for his service, he sent him back to his brother, Solomon Gedney. The man disposed of him to his sister's husband, a wealthy planter, by the name of Fowler, who took him to his own home in Alabama." In her tireless search for her son, Truth also met with the mother of Dr. Gedney, who showed little sympathy in the matter. Although it took several months, Truth succeeded in retrieving her son. A connection between the Gedneys referenced in Truth's memoirs and purported members of the Gedney family pictured here cannot be confirmed. An interesting group, worthy of additional research. Provenance: Dr. John W. Ravage Collection of African American Photography Condition: Solarization around each daguerreotype. Housed in full cases, with light to moderate wear.