A Virginia Slave Child in 1863. Three-quarter length albumen CDV studio portrait. Brooklyn, New York: Van Dorn, 1863. Title and copyright printed to mount recto. Photographer’s imprint to mount verso. Period pencil identification to mount verso: "Fannie Virginia Cassiopia Lawrence." 

Fannie Virginia Casseopia Lawrence (1858 - ?), born into slavery in Virginia to a mixed-race enslaved mother and her white master, would become one of the most photographed of the “slave children,” images circulated by abolitionists to raise money and pique interest in abolition during the Civil War. Due to their fairer complexions, white audiences were shocked and horrified to see young children, looking much like their own, existing as enslaved individuals.

Abolitionists used this to gain sympathy and find a way to connect their messages with otherwise desensitized audiences. In the case of Fannie, this sympathy extended into her own redemption from slavery. After joining the seemingly endless throng of escapees who took refuge behind Union lines in 1862, Fannie was spotted by Catherine S. Lawrence (1820 - 1904), a nurse tending Union soldiers. Resolving to adopt the child, Catherine used her influence to arrange for the famous Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, to baptize her at his Brooklyn church.

Fannie’s fair skin shocked the audience, who soon began clamoring for likenesses of the “redeemed” child. This view shows Fannie dressed in a charming hat and bow ensemble, her hair curled like a doll, seated next to her adopted mother. Her likeness would be photographed and distributed widely, garnering support for abolitionist causes.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [African Americana, African American History, Black History, Slavery, Enslavement, Abolition, Emancipation]  [Manuscripts, Documents, Letters, Ephemera, Signatures, Autographs] [Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Photography, Early Photography, Historic Photography, Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, Tintypes, Cased Images, Union Cases, Albumen Photographs, CDVs, Carte de Visites, Cartes de Visite, Carte-de-visite, Cartes-de-visite, CDV, Cabinet Cards, Stereoviews, Stereocards]