On June 12, 1863, the anti-slavery newspaper, The Liberator, published an article based on a carte-de-visite sent by a doctor to his brother in Boston.
“There has lately come to us, from Baton Rouge, the photograph a former slave – now, thanks to the Union army, a freeman. It represents him in a sitting posture, his stalwart body bared to the waist, his fine head and intelligent face in profile, his left arm bent, resting upon his hip, and his naked back exposed to full view. Upon that back, horrible to contemplate! is a testimony against slavery more eloquent than any words. Scarred, gouged, gathered in great ridges, knotted, furrowed, the poor tortured flesh stands out a hideous record of the slave-driver’s lash. Months have elapsed since the martyrdom was undergone, and the wounds have healed, but as long as the flesh lasts will this fearful impress remain. It is a touching picture, an appeal so mute and powerful that none but hardened matures can look upon it unmoved. However much men may depict false images, the sun will not lie. From such evidence as this there is no escape, and to see is to believe. Many, therefore, desired a copy of the photograph, and from the original numerous copies have been taken.
The surgeon of the First Louisiana regiment, (colored,) writing to his brother in this city, encloses this photograph, with these words : -
“I send you the picture of a slave as he appears after a whipping. I have seen, during the period I have been inspecting men for my own and other regiments, hundreds of such sights – so they are not new to me ; but it may be new to you. If you know of any one who talks about the humane manner in which the slaves are treated, please show them this picture. It is a lecture in itself.”
In the same edition, The Liberator carried a notice offering the carte-de-visite of Peter by mail: fifteen cents each and $1.50 for a dozen. The notice appeared for two months.
THE “PECULIAR INSTITUTION“ ILLUSTRATED.
We have a photographic likeness of a Louisiana slave’s back, taken five or six months after a terrible scourging, and exhibiting from the shoulders to the waist great welts and furrows raised or gouged by the lash, running crosswise and lengthwise – the victim himself presenting a noble countenance and fine physique. “This card photograph,” says the New York Independent, “should be multiplied by one hundred thousand, and scattered over the States. It tells the story in a way that even Mrs. Stowe cannot approach, because it tells the story to the eye. Price 15 cents. Sent by mail, by enclosing postage stamp. Seven copies for one dollar, or $1,50 per dozen.
Address Editor of the Liberator, Boston, Mass.
The Liberator, June 12, 1863
How did Peter wind up in the form of triptych in a special edition Harpers’ Weekly, the most popular journal of its time and a staple in middle-class homes across the North? Both Gere and Stearns sent copies to a limited circle – Stearns to his friends and family and Gere to S. E. Bridgman. Union medics also sent the image North. On December 3, 1863, the New York Tribune published a letter written by an anonymous writer, “Bostonian,” who stated that he sent the images to Harper’s Weekly. “Bostonian” provided an eyewitness account of the Peter and Gordon’s arrival at the Union camp, the most thorough account known.
“There has lately come to us, from Baton Rouge, the photograph a former slave – now, thanks to the Union army, a freeman. It represents him in a sitting posture, his stalwart body bared to the waist, his fine head and intelligent face in profile, his left arm bent, resting upon his hip, and his naked back exposed to full view. Upon that back, horrible to contemplate! is a testimony against slavery more eloquent than any words. Scarred, gouged, gathered in great ridges, knotted, furrowed, the poor tortured flesh stands out a hideous record of the slave-driver’s lash. Months have elapsed since the martyrdom was undergone, and the wounds have healed, but as long as the flesh lasts will this fearful impress remain. It is a touching picture, an appeal so mute and powerful that none but hardened matures can look upon it unmoved. However much men may depict false images, the sun will not lie. From such evidence as this there is no escape, and to see is to believe. Many, therefore, desired a copy of the photograph, and from the original numerous copies have been taken.
The surgeon of the First Louisiana regiment, (colored,) writing to his brother in this city, encloses this photograph, with these words : -
“I send you the picture of a slave as he appears after a whipping. I have seen, during the period I have been inspecting men for my own and other regiments, hundreds of such sights – so they are not new to me ; but it may be new to you. If you know of any one who talks about the humane manner in which the slaves are treated, please show them this picture. It is a lecture in itself.”
In the same edition, The Liberator carried a notice offering the carte-de-visite of Peter by mail: fifteen cents each and $1.50 for a dozen. The notice appeared for two months.
THE “PECULIAR INSTITUTION“ ILLUSTRATED.
We have a photographic likeness of a Louisiana slave’s back, taken five or six months after a terrible scourging, and exhibiting from the shoulders to the waist great welts and furrows raised or gouged by the lash, running crosswise and lengthwise – the victim himself presenting a noble countenance and fine physique. “This card photograph,” says the New York Independent, “should be multiplied by one hundred thousand, and scattered over the States. It tells the story in a way that even Mrs. Stowe cannot approach, because it tells the story to the eye. Price 15 cents. Sent by mail, by enclosing postage stamp. Seven copies for one dollar, or $1,50 per dozen.
Address Editor of the Liberator, Boston, Mass.
The Liberator, June 12, 1863
How did Peter wind up in the form of triptych in a special edition Harpers’ Weekly, the most popular journal of its time and a staple in middle-class homes across the North? Both Gere and Stearns sent copies to a limited circle – Stearns to his friends and family and Gere to S. E. Bridgman. Union medics also sent the image North. On December 3, 1863, the New York Tribune published a letter written by an anonymous writer, “Bostonian,” who stated that he sent the images to Harper’s Weekly. “Bostonian” provided an eyewitness account of the Peter and Gordon’s arrival at the Union camp, the most thorough account known.