Railway station at Gordonsville, not far from Charlottesville. Black hawkers selling goods and other refreshments to white passengers; the Negroes . . . swarm day and night like bees about the trains (p. 649). Original sketch made by J. Wells Chamney who accompanied the author during 1873 and the spring and summer of 1874. Although relating to the post-emancipation period, the scene possibly evokes the later ante-bellum years.

The woman is descending a staircase by the levee in Savannah; she carries a bundle on her head, a ubiquitous form of burden carrying throughout African America from the earliest times. It is not specified if the woman was a domestic servant. Original sketch made by J. Wells Chamney who accompanied the author during 1873 and the spring and summer of 1874.

Shows female hawker, The Quitandeira, carrying a tray on her head with her infant tied to her back. The quitandeiras are the venders of vegetables, oranges, guavas, . . mangoesö sugar-cane, toys, etc. They shout out their stock in a lusty voice . . . . The same nasal tones and high key may be noticed in all. Children are charmed when their favorite old black tramps down the street with toys or doces. The same illustration appears in later editions of this work, e.g., 1866 (6th ed.), 1879 (9th ed.).

"View of the Salle de Spectacle at the Place du Rocio, in Rio de Janeiro" (caption translation). In the background was the theatre, Salle de Spectacle, with miscellaneous urban scenes in the foreground of a plaza, Brazil. Two enslaved people carry a woman in a palanquin or covered litter, while a group of enslaved convicts carry water buckets on their heads, linked by chains around their necks. A uniformed guard with a sword is on the right. This engraving, by Lerouge and Bernard, but based on a drawing by Jacques Arago, was published in an elaborate Atlas of 112 plates, some in color, based on drawings made by various artists during a French geographical expedition in the early nineteenth century. The expedition visited Rio in in Dec. 1817-Feb. 1818. The Atlas accompanies a multi-volume account of the expedition, and is sometimes cataloged under the authorship of Ministere de la Marine et des Colonies, rather than Freycinet, the commander of the expedition. Louis Claude de Saulces de Freycinet (1779–1841) was a French navigator, who circumnavigated the earth, and in 1811, published the first map to show a full outline of the coastline of Australia.

This painting shows enslaved people, free people of color, and Europeans in a crowded market scene. Agostino Brunias (sometimes incorrectly spelled Brunyas, Brunais), was a painter born in Italy in 1730. He came to England in 1758 where he became acquainted with William Young, who had been appointed to a high governmental post in West Indian territories acquired by Britain from France. In late 1764, Brunias accompanied Young to the Caribbean as his personal artist. Arriving in early 1765, Brunias stayed in the islands until around 1775, when he returned to England (exhibiting some of his paintings in the late 1770s). He returned to the West Indies in 1784 and remained there until his death on the island of Dominica in 1796. Although Brunias primarily resided in Dominica, he also spent time in St. Vincent and visited other islands, including Barbados, Grenada, St. Kitts, and Tobago. See Lennox Honychurch, Chatoyer's Artist: Agostino Brunias and the Depiction of St Vincent, for what is presently the most informative and balanced discussion of Brunias and his romanticized and idyllic paintings of West Indian scenes and slave life (Jl of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society, vol. 50 [2004], pp.104-128); see also Hans Huth, Agostino Brunias, Romano (The Connoisseur, vol. 51 [Dec. 1962], pp. 265-269). Some of the features and human subjects in this scene are also found in the Brunias oil painting, Linen Market at St. Domingo (see image reference NW0009).

Bridgens explained how "a man and a woman are going to Sunday market, the day enslaved laborers were released from plantation work; the woman has a full tray of goods, including poultry. . . The markets in the West Indies are supplied almost entirely by the Negroes of the surrounding country." A sculptor, furniture designer and architect, Richard Bridgens was born in England in 1785, but in 1826 he moved to Trinidad where his wife had inherited a sugar plantation, St. Clair. Although he occasionally returned to England, he ultimately lived in Trinidad for seven years and died in Port of Spain in 1846. Bridgens' book contains 27 plates, thirteen of which are shown on this website. The plates were based on drawings made from life and were done between 1825, when Bridgens arrived in Trinidad, and 1836, when his book was published. Although his work is undated, the title page of a copy held by the Beinecke Rare Book Room at Yale University has a front cover with a publication date of 1836, the date usually assigned to this work by major libraries whose copies lack a title page. Bridgens' racist perspectives on enslaved Africans and his defense of slavery are discussed in T. Barringer, G. Forrester, and B. Martinez-Ruiz, Art and Emancipation in Jamaica: Isaac Mendes Belisario and his Worlds (Yale University Press, 2007), pp. 460-461. Bridgens' life is discussed extensively along with discussion of his drawings and presentation of many details on slave life in Trinidad in Judy Raymond, The Colour of Shadows: Images of Caribbean Slavery (Coconut Beach, Florida: Caribbean Studies Press, 2016). Raymond's book, which is an essential source for any study of Bridgens, also includes a number of unpublished sketches of Trinidadian slave life. See also Brian Austen, Richard Hicks Bridgens (Oxford Art Online/Grove Art Online).

"Negro Women, in Rio de Janeiro" (caption translation). This engraving shows four well-dressed women with various goods on their heads, including an umbrella and a basket of fruit. François-Auguste Biard (1799-1882), or François Thérèse Biard, was a French painter and traveler. Around 1858, he spent two years in Brazil working at the court of Emperor Pedro II. From Rio de Janeiro, he made several excursions into the interior, where he painted some of the earliest images of indigenous people in the Amazon. On his return to France, he went through North America and painted scenes depicting slavery. He published around 180 engravings and was sometimes criticized for inserting humour in otherwise serious paintings. See Ana Lucia Araujo, Brazil through French Eyes: A Nineteenth-Century Artist in the Tropics (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2015).

"Moving a Piano, in Rio de Janeiro" (caption translation). This engraving shows six men who seem to be jogging while singing something as they transport a piano on their heads through the streets. They are part of a much larger group involved in moving someone's household goods and furniture. François-Auguste Biard (1799-1882), or François Thérèse Biard, was a French painter and traveler. Around 1858, he spent two years in Brazil working at the court of Emperor Pedro II. From Rio de Janeiro, he made several excursions into the interior, where he painted some of the earliest images of indigenous people in the Amazon. On his return to France, he went through North America and painted scenes depicting slavery. He published around 180 engravings and was sometimes criticized for inserting humour in otherwise serious paintings. See Ana Lucia Araujo, Brazil through French Eyes: A Nineteenth-Century Artist in the Tropics (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2015).

"Negro Women, in Rio de Janeiro" (caption translation). This engraving shows three women in full dresses and head ties/turbans. One woman carries a basket of fruit on her head. François-Auguste Biard (1799-1882), or François Thérèse Biard, was a French painter and traveler. Around 1858, he spent two years in Brazil working at the court of Emperor Pedro II. From Rio de Janeiro, he made several excursions into the interior, where he painted some of the earliest images of indigenous people in the Amazon. On his return to France, he went through North America and painted scenes depicting slavery. He published around 180 engravings and was sometimes criticized for inserting humour in otherwise serious paintings. See Ana Lucia Araujo, Brazil through French Eyes: A Nineteenth-Century Artist in the Tropics (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2015).

This watercolour contains sixteen small drawings of men and women carrying goods on their heads with brief notations about the subjects of the drawings. William Berryman was an English artist who lived in Jamaica for eight years between 1808 and 1816. He produced about 300 pencil drawings and watercolour of people, landscape, settlements, and flora in the island's southern parishes and the general region surrounding Kingston. Several other Berryman works are reproduced in T. Barringer, G. Forrester, B. Martinez-Ruiz, et al., Art and Emancipation in Jamaica: Isaac Mendes Belisario and his Worlds (New Haven: Yale Center for British Art in association with Yale University Press, 2007).

"The Civil and Military Hospital" (caption translation). This engraving shows three enslaved women and a girl in the foreground. Benoit wrote that "their feet are bare because only free people of color have the right to wear shoes" (p. 21). He added "the civil and military hospital is in the background. Sick people are transported to the hospital in a type of box covered by canvas." Pierre Jacques Benoit (1782-1854) was a Belgian artist, who visited the Dutch colony of Suriname on his own initiative for several months in 1831. He stayed in Paramaribo, but visited plantations, maroon communities and indigenous villages inland.

"Three Trinket Merchants or Secondhand Traders, Creole, Negro-Creole and Cabougle or African" (caption translation). This engraving shows three market women or retailers of various dry goods with wood trays on their heads. The man clad in a loincloth appears to be enslaved, but it is unclear what he is doing exactly, although it could relate to using the toilet. Pierre Jacques Benoit (1782-1854) was a Belgian artist, who visited the Dutch colony of Suriname on his own initiative for several months in 1831. He stayed in Paramaribo, but visited plantations, maroon communities and indigenous villages inland.

"View of the Central Market of Vegetables, Fruits and Poultry" (caption translation). This engraving shows a busy market in the center of Paramaribo, nestled in among Dutch-style housing. Note the gravestones on the ground in the lower left. Benoit described this area "as a large square. In former years the cemetery was located there, but the government, fearing an epidemic, moved it to the city's outskirts" (p. 17). Pierre Jacques Benoit (1782-1854) was a Belgian artist, who visited the Dutch colony of Suriname on his own initiative for several months in 1831. He stayed in Paramaribo, but visited plantations, maroon communities and indigenous villages inland.

"Creole and Negro Clothing" (caption translation). This engraving shows three women standing in European clothes, while a man in the back holds an umbrella. On the streets of Paramaribo, Benoit wrote that "one can encounter a variety of people, wearing different styles of clothing" (p. 17). Pierre Jacques Benoit (1782-1854) was a Belgian artist, who visited the Dutch colony of Suriname on his own initiative for several months in 1831. He stayed in Paramaribo, but visited plantations, maroon communities and indigenous villages inland.

"On the Left a Cod or Salted Cod Merchant; On the Right, a Vegetable Merchant; in the Center, a Young Creole Milkmaid, in the Back, a Retailer" (caption translation). This image depicts various women identified in the image title dressed in different clothing styles. Pierre Jacques Benoit (1782-1854) was a Belgian artist, who visited the Dutch colony of Suriname on his own initiative for several months in 1831. He stayed in Paramaribo, but visited plantations, maroon communities and indigenous villages inland.

"Five Enslaved Women Going to their Church on a Festival Day" (caption translation). This engraving shows well-dressed women, who are a Lutheran, a Jew, a Calvinist and a Moravian, while a young, Christian, creole slave is going to church on the day of Palms. Pierre Jacques Benoit (1782-1854) was a Belgian artist, who visited the Dutch colony of Suriname on his own initiative for several months in 1831. He stayed in Paramaribo, but visited plantations, maroon communities and indigenous villages inland.

"View of Sarameca Street" (caption translation). This engraving shows houses in Paramaribo. The author described how "Sarameca-Straat is where the most and best stores and shops of the colony are located. . . It is the general congregating place not only for foreigners, but also of all classes of locals" (p. 21). Pierre Jacques Benoit (1782-1854) was a Belgian artist, who visited the Dutch colony of Suriname on his own initiative for several months in 1831. He stayed in Paramaribo, but visited plantations, maroon communities and indigenous villages inland.

This lithograph depicts a woman carrying milk products in a bowl on her head. Belisario explained how this milk seller "many Colored persons, as well as free Negroes living at short distances from towns or villages find it to their advantage to supply the inhabitants with goats' milk, which being richer than that of the cow, is therefore preferred by most families. The woman is on her way to town from the country in the early morning. Divested of the encumbrance of shoes and stocking and with the dress of a convenient walking length, the Milkmaid of Jamaica travels along at a rapid rate. . . arrived in town, she announces herself with 'See me day a wid de milk' (Here I am with the milk)." Isaac Mendes Belisario (1795–1849) was a Jamaican artist of Jewish descent and active in Kingston Jamaica around British emancipation in 1833. The image shown here, as well as others of “John-Canoes,” was drawn from life by Belisario in 1836. This lithograph is one of twelve originally published in three parts, four plates at a time.

This lithograph shows two men carrying pottery, or water jars, on their heads. The pottery in tray on the left includes (on the very top) the globular tea-pot shaped ceramic ware known in the Anglophone Caribbean as a monkey or monkey jar, used to hold water and keep it cool. This might be the earliest known illustration of the monkey in the Caribbean. The large pot being carried on the right appears to be a Jamaican version of the Spanish [olive] jar. Belisario provided a detailed description of water supplies in Jamaica, particularly Kingston, and noted that "the porous water jars in ordinary use are manufactured at potteries near the city; the two men shown here are apprentices who sally forth daily. The blue bag hanging from the neck of the taller man is a purse, every female Negro also carries a similar appendage at her waist." Isaac Mendes Belisario (1795–1849) was a Jamaican artist of Jewish descent and active in Kingston Jamaica around British emancipation in 1833. The image shown here, as well as others of “John-Canoes,” was drawn from life by Belisario in 1836. This lithograph is one of twelve originally published in three parts, four plates at a time.

"Church and Convent of Belen (Havana)" (caption translation). This engraving shows, among other figures, a black man pushing a wheelbarrow, others carting loads on their backs and a liveried coachman waiting by a carriage in front of a convent. José María de Andueza (1809-1865) was a journalist and writer of romantic historical novels. He visited Havana and Cuba’s western provinces in 1825 and 1830. This illustration was made by Frédéric Mialhe (1810-c. 1861), also Federico Mialhe, who was a French landscape painter and draughtsman. He went to Cuba on by invitation of the Real Sociedad Patriótica. He designed three sets of lithographs from 1838 to 1854. The publisher, Bernardo May, claimed ownership of this image and sold them under his own name. For a discussion on the image see Emilio Cueto, Mialhe's Colonial Cuba (Miami: The Historical Association of Southern Florida, 1994), p. 38-40.

In foreground, slaves are rowing European visitors ashore from sailing vessel; another African (on left) is paddling a canoe. Waller, a surgeon in the British Navy, landed in Paramaribo in July 1808. As his ship approached the city, the Surinam river becomes more and more interesting. The right bank ascending, appears covered with cultivated grounds and villas; the Dutch and the English too have spared neither pains nor expense to render their habitations delightful. These villas are principally the country residences of the citizens.

Titled, The Fruit Market at St. Vincent, shows free colored woman and slaves, perhaps meant to depict the Sunday Market, a major institution in the British West Indies during the period of slavery. Agostino Brunias (sometimes incorrectly spelled Brunyas, Brunais), a painter born in Italy in 1730, came to England in 1758 where he became acquainted with William Young. Young had been appointed to a high governmental post in West Indian territories acquired by Britain from France, and in late 1764 Brunias accompanied Young to the Caribbean as his personal artist. Arriving in early 1765, Brunias stayed in the islands until around 1775, when he returned to England (exhibiting some of his paintings in the late 1770s) and visited the continent. He returned to the West Indies in 1784 and remained there until his death on the island of Dominica in 1796. Although Brunias primarily resided in Dominica he also spent time in St. Vincent, and visited other islands, including Barbados, Grenada, St. Kitts, and Tobago. See Lennox Honychurch, Chatoyer's Artist: Agostino Brunias and the Depiction of St Vincent, for what is presently the most informative and balanced discussion of Brunias and his romanticized and idyllic paintings of West Indian scenes and slave life (Jl of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society, vol. 50 [2004], pp.104-128); see also Hans Huth, Agostino Brunias, Romano (The Connoisseur, vol. 51 [Dec. 1962], pp. 265-269).

Titled The Linen Market at St. Domingo, shows free colored women and men; slaves in background. Some of the background features and human subjects in this scene are also found in the Brunias oil painting, Linen Market, Dominica, held by the Yale Center for British Art (see image reference Brunias-Yale). Agostino Brunias (sometimes incorrectly spelled Brunyas, Brunais), a painter born in Italy in 1730, came to England in 1758 where he became acquainted with William Young. Young had been appointed to a high governmental post in West Indian territories acquired by Britain from France, and in late 1764 Brunias accompanied Young to the Caribbean as his personal artist. Arriving in early 1765, Brunias stayed in the islands until around 1775, when he returned to England (exhibiting some of his paintings in the late 1770s) and visited the continent. He returned to the West Indies in 1784 and remained there until his death on the island of Dominica in 1796. Although Brunias primarily resided in Dominica he also spent time in St. Vincent, and visited other islands, including Barbados, Grenada, St. Kitts, and Tobago. See Lennox Honychurch, Chatoyer's Artist: Agostino Brunias and the Depiction of St Vincent, for what is presently the most informative and balanced discussion of Brunias and his romanticized and idyllic paintings of West Indian scenes and slave life (Jl of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society, vol. 50 [2004], pp.104-128); see also Hans Huth, Agostino Brunias, Romano (The Connoisseur, vol. 51 [Dec. 1962], pp. 265-269).

Titled by the artist, The Barbadoes Mulatto Girl, this engraved print shows an anonymous free woman of color (freedwoman) purchasing fruit/vegetables from enslaved vendors (see also, image NW0149-a ). Agostino Brunias (sometimes incorrectly spelled Brunyas, Brunais), a painter born in Italy in 1730 and came to England in 1758 where he became acquainted with William Young. Young had been appointed to a high governmental post in the Caribbean territories Britain had acquired from France, and in late 1764 Brunias accompanied Young to the Caribbean as his personal artist. Arriving at Barbados in early 1765 (where the sketch for the image shown here, perhaps for others as well, was probably done), Brunias stayed in the islands until around 1775, when he returned to England (exhibiting some of his paintings in the late 1770s) and visited the continent. He returned to the West Indies in 1784 and remained there until his death on the island of Dominica in 1796. Although Brunias primarily resided in Dominica he also spent time in St. Vincent, and visited other islands, including Barbados, Grenada, St. Kitts, and Tobago. See Lennox Honychurch, Chatoyer's Artist: Agostino Brunias and the Depiction of St Vincent, for what is presently the most informative and balanced discussion of Brunias and his romanticized and idyllic paintings of West Indian scenes and slave life (Jl of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society, vol. 50 [2004], pp.104-128); see also Hans Huth, Agostino Brunias, Romano (The Connoisseur, vol. 51 [Dec. 1962], pp. 265-269). A photograph of this print was given to Handler in the 1960s by the late Neville Connell, Director of the Barbados Museum. Four Brunias paintings, some containing elements of images shown on this website (including, for example, the slave woman in the lower right, above) can be seen on the website of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University. Another copy of The Barbadoes Mulatto Girl is held by the Yale Center for British Art; it was published in London in 1779 and is dedicated to John Geo., Felton.

Looking up Broad Street, with statue of Admiral Nelson in the foreground; also shown are people engaged in various activities, including carters with teams of oxen and wagons loaded with hogsheads of sugar or rum. Although Broad Street (shown in this drawing), the main street in Bridgetown, the Barbados capital, has changed considerably since 1835, it still exists as does the statue of Nelson. For details on this rare set of drawings, see Jerome S. Handler, Guide to Source Materials for the Study of Barbados History (Carbondale, 1971), p. 91.