Mar 20 at 10:30 AM - Sale 2697 -

Sale 2697 - Lot 315

Estimate: $ 600 - $ 900
(PHOTOGRAPHY.) Cabinet card of Pomp Wilson, University of Pennsylvania staff member. Albumen photograph, 5¾ x 4 inches, on photographer's mount; uncaptioned, minimal wear. Philadelphia: Gilbert & Bacon, circa 1879-1888
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Additional Details

Albert Monroe Wilson (1841-1904) began working at the University of Pennsylvania in 1854 as an errand boy. When he began, the school was still segregated--the first Black students were not admitted to the University until 1879. Over the course of his fifty years with the university, Wilson became head janitor, chemistry laboratory assistant, and keeper of some of the school's early artifacts. A central part of the university culture, he bore the nickname "Pomp," was named an honorary member of the Class of 1858, and was to be presented with a retirement fund at a grand "Pomp's Jubilee" during the 1904 commencement ceremonies, although he passed three months before the event.

While this photograph is uncaptioned, other identified photographs of Wilson (one by Gilbert & Bacon) show Wilson wearing this same jacket. The Philadelphia photographers Gilbert & Bacon, who worked frequently with the University, opened their 820 Arch Street studio in 1879 and closed the 40 N. 8th St. gallery in 1888.

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