Image 'The day of Jubelo', 1865

TLF ID M008757

This is a black-and-white photographic print of a painting by Edmund Birckhead Bensell showing African Americans, probably freed slaves, dancing, drinking, making music and sliding down the banister in a large house in the US south. The print is attached to a cardboard mount. The printed caption gives the title and includes the following information: 'Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1865, by J.A. Arthur, in the clerk's office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania'.





Educational details

Educational value
  • This photographic print is a useful source for the study of the emancipation of slaves in the American south during the Civil War (1861-65). It is relevant to the modern history curriculum in the senior secondary years and to the year 9 history depth study elective Movement of peoples (1750-1901), which studies the influence of the industrial revolution on the movement of peoples throughout the world, including the transatlantic slave trade.
  • This scene is an example of wild and joyous celebrations on a plantation as its slaves were liberated and occupied the 'great house', as imagined by the artist Edmund Birckhead Bensell. The Proclamation of Emancipation by President Abraham Lincoln on 1 January 1863 meant that as the Union army advanced into former Confederate territory, slaves in the areas they conquered were automatically set free.
  • The image is an example of a 'carte de visite' or a calling card. These were small photographs printed on thin paper and mounted on cardboard, which became a popular craze from the 1860s. Cards were sold by photographers and photographic companies. Popular photographs, often of celebrities, were in high demand. Cards were collected, traded and assembled in albums. It seems that this photograph was registered to protect the copyright of the artist and the company.
Learning area
  • History

Other details

Contributors
  • Author
  • Person: Edmund Birckhead Bensell
  • Description: author
  • Contributor
  • Name: The Library of Congress
  • Organization: The Library of Congress
  • Description: content provider
  • Address: UNITED STATES
  • URL: http://www.loc.gov/
  • Person: Edmund Birckhead Bensell
  • Description: author
  • Publisher
  • Name: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Organization: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Description: Publisher
  • Address: VIC, AUSTRALIA
  • URL: http://www.esa.edu.au/
  • Resource metadata contributed by
  • Name: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Organisation: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Address: AUSTRALIA
  • URL: www.esa.edu.au
Access profile
  • Generic
Learning Resource Type
  • Image
Rights
  • © Commonwealth of Australia, 2011, except where indicated otherwise. You may copy, communicate and modify this material for non-commercial educational purposes provided you retain all acknowledgements associated with the material.