Here are some photographs of Victorian women of color that date from 1860 to 1901. Unfortunately, a lot of these photographs have no names attached to the women posed in the photographs.

I’d love to know the stories behind each photo. What each woman’s life was like. Sadly, we’ll probably never know.

According to the website Downtown LA Life:

Photos of Women of Color from this era are hard to come by, especially “family” photographs.
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A couple of these photos were taken when there was still slavery in the United States.

 

 

Aida Overton Walker
 

 

 

 

 

 

Studio portrait of an African American woman equestrian rider from the late 1880s.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
via Downtown LA Life, Pinterest and Bea Tonner on Tumblr