A carte de visite studio portrait of an African youth in livery, with top hat in hand
The photographer is Cesar de Ferranti (1831-1903), the notable Liverpool photographer. The verso of the card lists his Bold Street studio address; he moved there in 1862, and we suggest this photograph dates from that decade. Both the card and the photograph are in excellent condition. In the twenty years before the Act for the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade was passed in 1807, 'probably three-quarters of all European slaving ships at this period left from Liverpool' (Liverpool Museums). The Slavery Abolition Act was not passed until 1830, and it only came into force in 1834. It is hardly surprising to find an English portrait of a young man of African descent originating from a studio in Liverpool.
Item #114878
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