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Museum object · Slavery and Freedom Objects

Carte-de-visite portrait of Sidney Taliaferro

1881

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America

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Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

Carte-de-visite of Sidney Taliaferro shown in half portrait. Her body is facing the camera but her head is turned one quarter to her right and she looks off frame. Her arms are crossed in front of her chest and resting on a table in front of her. Taliaferro's hair is pulled tightly into small coils on the top of her head. She wears a medium colored bodice with button detailing on the cuffs of the sleeves, a white lace standing collar, and a dark colored kerchief with white polka dots is gathered around her neck and pinned at the front with a stylized leaf brooch. Printed below the image is the text "H.D. Garns & Co. Philada.". Handwritten in graphite on the back of the photograph at the top is "Sidney Taliafero 1881". There is a mark for H.D. Garns & Co. printed on the back with "12884" written below in graphite.

Sources & collection details

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture — original record ↗

Source collection ↗

Catalog metadata · CC0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

Catalog reference: 2017.30.42

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