Full-length studio portrait albumen CDV of Mammoth Cave guide, Mat Bransford. Louisville, Kentucky: Alcan & Gorbutt, n.d. Photographers’ Third and Main St. imprint to mount verso. Period ink inscription to verso reads: "Mat Bransford Guide to Mammoth Cave."

Housed in period CDV album with 27 albumen CDV and 3 tintype portraits. All other subjects are white and attributed to the Crutcher and Powell families of Mercer County, Kentucky by a modern pencil inscription to the Index. Most backmarks are from Louisville and other cities from the region including Danville, Kentucky; Cincinnati, Ohio; Evansville, Indiana; and Nashville, Tennessee.  Bransford's portrait was included on the last page of the album with a period pencil caption "Bransford a guide to Mammoth Cave." 

Mat Bransford (1815-1885) stands confidently with one leg slightly in front, looking directly at the photographer’s lens. He wears a hat, a long coat, and a bag or canteen across his chest. One hand holds a walking stick, the other holds a basket and the distinctive lanterns used in cave exploration.

Mat Bransford and other enslaved men Nick Bransford (owned by the same master as Mat but not biologically related) and Stephen Bishop (ca 1821-1857) were the first tour guides of Mammoth Cave. Mat was born to an enslaved woman and their enslaver, Thomas Bransford. Mat and Nick were leased in 1838 to Franklin Gorin, an attorney who owned the Mammoth Cave land and sought to make it a tourist destination. The Bransfords and Bishop would lead curious cavers throughout the extensive underground network for days at a time, illuminated by distinctive lanterns, one of which Bransford holds in this image. They were deeply involved in mapping the cave system, naming features, and discovering new areas. After Emancipation, Mat Bransford stayed at Mammoth Cave for the remainder of his life, leading tours into his 70s. The Bransford family has continued to guide visitors for five generations, including current National Park Ranger Jerry Bransford.

A very rare view of one of the intrepid enslaved guides of the largest cave system in the world.

[African Americana, African American History, Slavery, Abolition, Enslavement, Emancipation, Mammoth Cave, Kentucky] [African Americana, African American History, Black History, Historic Photography, Early Photography, Daguerreotype, Ambrotype, Tintype, Cased Images, Union Cases]

Some fading. Chip to upper edge and nicks to edges affecting mount only.