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Primary sourcePhotographc. 1864-1873

Portrait of William Lloyd Garrison by J.W. Black

James Wallace Black · c. 1864-1873

A photograph of an older Garrison taken by photographer James Wallace Black during the Civil War and Reconstruction era.

This photograph depicts Garrison himself in his later years as a recognized public reformer.

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Black-and-white photograph of an older bald man with a fringe of hair, wearing round wire-rimmed spectacles, a high-collared white shirt, dark bow tie, dark waistcoat, and a long light overcoat, seated with hands resting on his knees against a plain backdrop with a carved pillar at right.
James Wallace Black, portrait of William Lloyd Garrison, c. 1864-1873.

About this source

What it is

This photograph, taken sometime between about 1864 and 1873 by photographer James Wallace Black, shows William Lloyd Garrison as an older man. He is seated, wearing spectacles and a long overcoat, against a plain studio backdrop.

Why it matters

By this point Garrison had spent decades campaigning against slavery through his newspaper The Liberator. The photograph captures him in the period when slavery was abolished and the nation struggled with Reconstruction, showing him as a public figure whose cause had largely triumphed.

Look closer

  • What does Garrison's pose and expression suggest about how he wanted to be remembered?
  • Why might a photographer want to take a formal portrait of an aging reformer at this time?
  • What does the image not tell us about Garrison's earlier, more turbulent years as an activist?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of William Lloyd Garrison on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Yellowed title page of the 1845 Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Text reads 'Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself', 'Boston: Published at the Anti-Slavery Office, No. 25 Cornhill, 1845'.Book

Primary source

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave

Frederick Douglass · 1845

Title page of 'Thoughts on African Colonization' (Boston, 1832). Large heading reads 'Thoughts on African Colonization: or an impartial exhibition of the doctrines, principles and purposes of the American Colonization Society', with text 'together with the resolutions, addresses and remonstrances of the free people of color'. Epigraphs from the Bible appear below, followed by 'By Wm. Lloyd Garrison'. Imprint: 'Boston: Printed and published by Garrison and Knapp, No. 11, Merchants' Hall, 1832'.Book

Primary source

Thoughts on African Colonization

William Lloyd Garrison · 1832

Oil portrait of a balding older man with wire-rimmed spectacles, wearing a black coat, white shirt, and black neckcloth, against a dark brown background. He faces forward with a neutral expression.Painting

Primary source

William Lloyd Garrison

Nathaniel Jocelyn · 1833

Masthead of The Liberator newspaper, an engraved illustration with the title THE LIBERATOR in large letters across the bottom. Scenes include an auction of enslaved people with a sign reading slaves, horses, sheep, and other goods, a central robed figure with arms raised breaking chains, enslaved people working in fields, and a gate at right. Below the title is the motto Our Country is the World, our Countrymen are all Mankind.Newspaper article

Primary source

The Liberator, 15 December 1854

Hammatt Billings · 15 December 1854

Front page of The Liberator, Boston, Friday, January 3, 1862, Vol. XXXII, No. 1, Whole No. 1619. A woodcut vignette of figures, including a standing woman, sits above the masthead. Dense columns of small printed text fill the page.Newspaper article

Primary source

The Liberator

William Lloyd Garrison · 1831-1865

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