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Primary sourcePhotograph1864

Sojourner Truth, seated with knitting

1864

A carte de visite photograph of Sojourner Truth from 1864, held by the Library of Congress, showing her seated and knitting.

This 1864 photograph depicts Truth in a pose chosen to present her as a respectable, working woman.

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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.
Sojourner Truth, carte de visite, 1864. Library of Congress, Gladstone Collection.

About this source

What it is

This is a carte de visite photograph of Sojourner Truth, taken in 1864 and held in the Library of Congress's Gladstone Collection of African American Photographs. It shows her seated beside a table, wearing glasses and a bonnet, holding knitting or sewing. It carries the same printed caption, "I Sell the Shadow to Support the Substance," that Truth used on photographs she sold to support her work.

Why it matters

This image presents Truth in a domestic, respectable pose, holding needlework rather than any symbol of activism. It is part of the same series of photographs Truth sold herself, showing how carefully she shaped her public image during a time when Black women were rarely portrayed with dignity.

Look closer

  • Why might Truth have chosen to be shown knitting rather than speaking or writing?
  • What does this pose suggest about how she wanted to be seen by the public?
  • How does this image compare with other photographs she sold of herself?

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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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

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

Gilbert Vale · 1835

Sepia-toned seated portrait of an elderly Black woman in a dark dress, white shawl with fringe, and white bonnet, sitting in an ornately carved dark wooden armchair in a studio with a decorated shelf and vases behind her.Photograph

Primary source

Sojourner Truth, 1870

Randall Studio · c. 1870

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