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Primary sourcePhotographc. 1864

Sojourner Truth half-length carte de visite, c. 1864

Unknown author · c. 1864

A Civil War-era photographic portrait of Sojourner Truth, printed as a small carte de visite.

This photograph shows Truth herself, made during the Civil War era when she was active as an abolitionist and speaker.

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Black-and-white half-length portrait of an older Black woman wearing a light bonnet and a light-colored collared dress with a shawl, facing the camera with a serious expression against a dark backdrop.
Sojourner Truth, half-length portrait, c. 1864. Albumen print on carte de visite mount.

About this source

What it is

This is a half-length photographic portrait of Sojourner Truth, made as an albumen print on a carte de visite mount around 1864. The photographer is unknown.

Why it matters

Photographs like this were widely collected and exchanged in the 1860s. This image shows Truth, an escaped enslaved woman who became a leading abolitionist and women's rights speaker, presented in respectable dress as a dignified public figure during the Civil War era.

Look closer

  • What does Truth's clothing and pose suggest about how she wanted to be seen by the public?
  • Why might an abolitionist speaker have wanted a widely distributed photographic portrait?
  • What is missing from a formal studio portrait that might tell us more about her life?

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

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Ain't I a Woman?

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Narrative of Sojourner Truth

Sojourner Truth · 1850

Sepia carte de visite photograph of an older Black woman seated at a table, wearing a white bonnet, dark dress, and white fringed shawl, with a flower vase at right. Printed caption below reads 'I Sell the Shadow to Support the Substance' and 'SOJOURNER TRUTH'.Photograph

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I Sell the Shadow to Support the Substance

1864

Scan of a marbled endpaper or cover paper with swirling patterns of tan, brown, red and black ink, with dark binding edge on the left side. No text is visible.Book

Secondary source

Fanaticism; Its Source and Influence, Illustrated by the Simple Narrative of Isabella, in the Case of Matthias

Gilbert Vale · 1835

Sepia carte de visite photograph of an older Black woman seated beside a table with a flower vase, wearing a white bonnet, glasses, a white shawl, and a dark dress, holding knitting or sewing. Printed caption below reads: I Sell the Shadow to Support the Substance. SOJOURNER TRUTH.Photograph

Primary source

Sojourner Truth, seated with knitting

1864

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