- Photograph by
- Havens, O. Pierre, American, 1838 - 1912
- Subject of
- Unidentified Woman or Women
- Unidentified Child or Children
- Unidentified Man or Men
- Date
- 1888-1912
- Medium
- unidentified photographic print on card mount
- Dimensions
- H x W (Image): 4 3/4 × 7 5/8 in. (12.1 × 19.4 cm)
- H x W (Sheet): 5 3/8 × 8 3/8 in. (13.7 × 21.3 cm)
- Description
- A cabinet card with a yellowish black-and-white photograph depicting a family eating watermelons outside a log structure. The mother is seated at the far left in the swept yard. She holds one quarter of a melon to her mouth in her right hand and another quarter in her left hand at her waist. The father is standing and leaning near a post by the porch of the building. The children are seated in the yard or standing and leaning against the building, with one older girl in the right foreground seated and partially obscured by a large wooden pestle and mortar. All but one of the children is holding a watermelon quarter near their mouth. The title is imprinted into the image with the words "DEM" and "WATERMELLION" on either side of the older girl in the right foreground. The photographer's name and address are printed on the reverse center of the tan card mount in black ink.
- Statement
- Objects depicting racist and/or stereotypical imagery or language may be offensive and disturbing, but the NMAAHC aims to include them in the Collection to present and preserve the historical context in which they were created and used. Objects of this type provide an important historical record from which to study and evaluate racism.
- Place printed
- Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida, United States, North and Central America
- Collection title
- Liljenquist Family Collection
- Classification
- Racist and Stereotypical Objects
- Photographs and Still Images
- Type
- cabinet photographs
- Topic
- American South
- Caricature and cartoons
- Cooking and dining
- Foodways
- Language
- Photography
- Stereotypes
- U.S. History, 1865-1921
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift from the Liljenquist Family Collection
- Object number
- 2016.166.19
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
- Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




