Description
Extremely rare and museum quality view of renowned orator, statesman and abolitionist Frederick Douglas. Taken in Dubuque, Iowa, the former slave is believed to have sat for this view sometime between April 19th and the 21st of 1866. Currently there only 2 other views known to exist that were taken during this sitting. One residing in the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History located in New York. The other resides in a private collection. Douglas would first arrive in Dubuque towards the end of April, 1866 where he would present a lecture on the need for Reconstruction and African-American suffrage. It is known that Douglas gave his speech on the 20th of April. It is also known that he departed Dubuque on the 21st on the 10:00 AM train as he headed to Anamosa. Whether he arrived in town on the 19th or the 20th is not certain but it is documented that he was there on the 20th and 21st. This view is back marked by “S. ROOT Photographer 166 Main St. Dubuque, Iowa”. Root himself was a very prolific and famous photographer who had taken a number of well known views of famous individuals such as Henry Clay, Tom Thumb and P.T. Barnum among others. Root would move his studio location from the Main St. address to his home in late 1867 giving further evidence to the time frame in which this view was taken. This particular view came from the personal album of Captain Jacob B. Casebeer who would serve in the 24th Iowa Volunteer Infantry. Following the war, Casebeer would become a doctor and renowned minister of the M.E. Church located in Dubuque from 1865 through late 1866. Presumably Casebeer would have been present during one of Douglas’s speeches. Douglas is shown here well dressed and giving the appearance of a very confident and proud man as he grasps his gold handled walking stick. This view is slightly trimmed along both the top and bottom due to being housed in Casebeer’s album. The rarity and importance of the view however outweighs the simple trimming of the image in my opinion. Exceptional clarity and beautiful deep tone to this image as well.
