1 / 2
Click To Zoom

Condition Report

Contact Information

Auction Specialist

Lot 160

Sale 994 - African Americana
Feb 23, 2022 11:00AM ET
Live / Cincinnati
Own a similar item?
Estimate
$300 - 400
Price Realized
$313
Sold prices are inclusive of Buyer’s Premium

Lot Description

[EARLY PHOTOGRAPHY]. EISENMANN, Charles, photographer. A group of 3 CDVs of Illavaro the Egyptian. New York: ca 1880s. 


2 1/4 x 3 1/2 in. CDVs on cardstock mounts, providing full-standing or bust-length portraits (toning, some fading; one mount trimmed). Credited on recto and/or verso to Charles Eisenmann. 

"Illavaro the Egyptian" was one of P.T. Barnum's exhibited Circassian beauties. He billed these young women as purist examples of the Caucasian race, brought to America from Circassia, though in reality, some, like "Illavaro," were African American women made up to look exotic by teasing their hair and taking other measures.

Condition Report

Contact Information

Auction Specialist

Search