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Riley, Richard, fl. 1870-1900 Album of approx. 250 cyanotypes of African-Americans, at Calhoun, Ala.

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05140.02 Author/Creator: Riley, Richard, fl. 1870-1900 Place Written: Calhoun, Alabama Type: Photograph Date: 1870s-1900s ca. Pagination: 46 p. : Height: 28.8 cm, Width: 23.3 cm Order a Copy

One photograph album of cyanotypes. The images derive from the Calhoun Industrial School, founded in 1892 by the Hampton (Va.) Normal and Agricultural Institute. The images were taken by Richard Riley of the Hampton Institute. The Calhoun school was also a social settlement in which blacks and whites lived and worked side-by-side. The school offered classes in agriculture, arithmetic, bible study, carpentry, cooking, English, sewing and even teacher education. Many of the courses were taught by graduates of the Hampton Institute. Most images appear to be circa 1896-1903 (based on when Riley worked at Hampton). The images include some integrated groups of blacks and whites together, sharecroppers, black Civil War veterans and middle class blacks. The Calhoun School was a social experiment in which local plantations were purchased and land distributed to local blacks.

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