Original CDV album containing 100 albumen CDVs and 1 tintype. Approx. 80 subjects are identified and noted as participants in the 1870 Tennessee Constitutional Convention. Autograph signature to frontispiece which reads: "John H. Meeks" and "Mrs. J.H. Meeks". Embossed leather binding with brass clasps. A complete listing of images appears below.

 

An exceptional and historically significant album containing identified photographs of participants in the 1870 Tennessee Constitutional Convention, the controversial postwar assembly that produced the state’s third, and still current, constitution. Formed in the fraught political climate of Reconstruction, the convention sought in large measure to restore power to conservative and former Confederate-aligned interests in Tennessee and to curtail the broader political transformations brought about by the war and its aftermath. The album preserves 101 high-quality images associated with that body, together with a small number of additional early photographic portraits. Most of the sitters are identified in period pencil in the album’s index, greatly enhancing the documentary value of the group.

 

The convention met in Nashville from 10 January to 23 February 1870. Many of its delegates were among the state’s most prominent lawyers and public figures, though a number were arguably disqualified under the relevant postwar restrictions barring former Confederates from holding state or federal office. The constitution drafted there was ratified on 26 March 1870 and aimed in part to reorganize the judiciary while facilitating the political restoration of white Tennesseans sympathetic to the former Confederacy. Delegates were especially concerned with reshaping the judicial system and, more broadly, with reasserting local conservative control in resistance to federal Reconstruction policies, including Black enfranchisement. Although the final document retained much from the constitution of 1834, it also marked a consequential realignment in Tennessee’s political order, helping to secure conservative dominance in the state for years to come.

 

Further details concerning the individual photographs in this remarkable album appear below. The album pages are partially separated, though all are present, making the volume an excellent candidate for professional conservation. Despite the loosened binding, the photographs themselves appear to remain in excellent condition.

 Views of prominent members of the convention include:

1.) John C. Brown studio bust portrait albumen CDV. N.p., n.d. Period pencil number identification to mount verso which corresponds with index. 

John C. Brown (1827-1889) presided over the 1870 Tennessee Constitutional Convention and later served as the first governor under the newly ratified constitution. 

 

2.) Joseph Mabry studio bust portrait albumen CDV. N.p., n.d. Period pencil identification to mount verso. Period pencil number identification to album which corresponds with index. 

 

Joseph Mabry (1826-1882) was a prominent businessman throughout Tennessee, bolstering his reputation with railroad and real estate ventures prior to the Civil War. His equipment of Confederate soldiers with uniforms earned him the nickname of "General Mabry," despite never enlisting for service. Controversially, however, his allegiances would sway upon the occupation of Knoxville by Union soldiers, offering no resistance in his cooperation. While his involvement in state affairs would continue following the war, Mabry's name and family would become that of folk lore, some of its scandals highlighted in Mark Twain's book, Life on the Mississippi. A gunfight involving his son and his own demise, and a later lover's scandal of his daughter would reach national headlines, securing the Mabry name in infamous glory. 

3.) Alfred O.P. Nicholson studio bust portrait albumen CDV. N.p., n.d. Period pencil number identification to album which corresponds with index. 

Alfred O.P. Nicholson (1808-1876) was a delegate of the 1870 Tennessee Constitutional Convention and was later named Chief Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court in 1870. Additionally, he served twice as a US Senator for the state of Tennessee. 

 

4.) Henry Pearl studio bust portrait albumen CDV. Nashville, Tennessee: Larcombe's Rock City Gallery, [circa 1870]. Publisher's imprint printed to mount verso. Period pencil identification printed to mount verso. 

 

An impressive view of Henry Pearl, the only African American man to be present at the Tennessee Constitutional Convention. Listed in an expense account relating to the convention, Pearl acted as a porter during the proceedings for a recorded amount of forty-five days. He earned a total of $180 for his service at the convention. While not much else is known about the gentleman, his presence adds an intriguing detail regarding the attendees of the convention. 

5.) Signed James D. Porter studio bust portrait albumen CDV. N.p., n.d. Period pencil number identification to album which corresponds with index.  

 

This album contains two (2) CDV images of James D. Porter, one of which contains the autograph signature of Porter in manuscript ink to verso. 

 

James D. Porter (1828-1912) was a young delegate of the 1870 Tennessee Constitutional Convention, who was quickly building a prominent political career after his service as a Confederate soldier during the Civil War. Porter would eventually succeed John C. Brown and serve as the second governor under the 1870 constitution. 

 

A complete list of identified delegates is written in period pencil in the index of the album. Names included are as follows: 

 

1. J.C. Brown 

2. Jno. Allen 

3. Jesse Arledge 

4. H.R.Bate

5. Jno Baxter

6. Jo Blackburn

7. A Blizzard 

8. Jno Mabry 

9. RP. Brooks 

10. N.S. Brown 

11. Jno H. Meeks

12. S. Kirkpatrick

13. Jno W. Burton

14. B. Gordon

15. H.R. Gibson 

16. Chowning

17. Cummings 

18. R. Warner

19. W. V. Deadrick

20. T. D. Deavenport

21. G.G. Dibbrell 

22. W.F. Doherty 

23. Jno. Dromgoole 

24. James Fentress

25. A.T. Fielder

26. P.G. Fulkerson 

27. Jno. A. Gardner

28. Jno. E. Garner

29. James S. Brown 

30. Chas. Gibbs 

31. Geo W. Jones 

32. B. Gordon 

33. Jo. H. Heiskell 

34. R. Sypert 

35. H. L. W. Hill

36. Spl. Hill

37. Sam Hill

38. Jno. T. House

39. T. B. Ivie

40. G. W. Jones

41. T. M. Jones

42. D.N. Kennedy

43. Jno. M. Taylor

44. T. M. Burkett

45. A. A. Kyle

46. W.M. Wright 

47. A. G. McDougald

48. M. McNabb

49. Mat. Martin

50. T. C. Morris

51. Jno. Netherland

52. A.O.P Nicholson

53. Geo. C. Porter

54. Jas. D. Porter

55. Sample

56. Sheppard 

57. Geo. Seay

58. Shepherd

59. E. Shelton

60. Jno. Netherland

61. W. H. Stephens

62. W. F. Doherty

63. N. Brandon

64. W. Vance Thompson

65. J. J. Turner

66. G. W. Walters

67. Jno. T. House

68. W. H. Williamson

69. W. M. Wright

70. Jno. A. Gardner

71. D. M. Key

72. R. Henderson

73. W. B. Staley

74. Jno. C. Thompson

75. Alex W. Campbell

76. J. S. Brown

77. W. B. Carter

78. L. G. Stewart, Doorkeeper

79. W. S. Kyle

80. T. E. S. Russwurm

81. Jno. E. Bennett

82. T. W. Jones

83. Pearl, col. (?)

84. Davis

85. [James D. Porter, Jr]

86. [unknown]

 
[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] [Civil War, Union, Confederate]