A. W. MOLLER PHOTOS – THOMASVILLE, GEORGIA
A series of eight A.(lgermon) W(allner) Möller’s turn-of-the-century photographs documenting the lives of African Americans in and around Thomasville, Georgia.
Algernon Wallner Moller was born in 1867 in England and migrated with his family to Thomasville when he was 18. Always having an interest in photography he established himself as a commercial photographer about 1890 with emphasis on photos documenting African American life and labor at the turn of the 19th century. Moller gained notoriety for his photography throughout Thomas and Fulton Counties in Georgia.
These photos are from 2 series...either titled (4)"Views in and around Thomasville," or Views of Thomasville and Vicinity (3), a town on Georgia''s southern border. One photo is blank on the back. The eight albumen and silver on paper mounted on cardboard photos show No. 1. a man driving a cartload of lumber through a town street. No. 2. a cotton press in operation surrounded by 10 African Americans and a single white supervisor wearing a suit, tie and vest. No. 3 is a grouping of 9 African Americans weighing recently picked baskets of cotton. No.4 is an African American family in front of their crude log home with the lady sitting behind a large basket of cotton. Both dressed in extremely ragged clothing. No.5 shows six African Americans sitting in a patch of watermelons and eating watermelon with a horse and buggy in the background. No. 6 is a grouping of eight African Americans and one well dressed white supervisor picking cotton. No. 7 is a large grouping of African Americans picking cotton. No. 8 features an African American mother with her 9 children posing in front of their home which is heated by two fireplaces.
“Commercially produced photographs such as these exemplify the demand for images of Southern Black life in the period following the Civil War. Inexpensive and popular, these photographs catered to a range of interests by depicting various subjects. The Black workers might have been told to pose as though unaware of the camera, reflecting an appetite for images of plantation labor as pleasant, beautiful and natural.” (Princeton University Art Museum)
Seven of the eight photos are identified on the back as Photographed by A.W. Moller. Thomasville, Georgia. Each photo is 7 7/16 x 4 ½ inches and mounted is 8 x 5inches. All have great contrast and are in vg condition.
