(PHOTOGRAPHY) [Warren George K; photographer] Portrait of Ja

Sale 2534 - Lot 356

Unsold

Estimate: $ 2,500 - $ 3,500

(PHOTOGRAPHY.) [Warren, George K.; photographer.] Portrait of James Johnson, who escaped from slavery to work at Princeton. Albumenized salt print, 4 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches oval, on original plain 13 x 9 1/2-inch mount; disbound from an 1860 Princeton College yearbook, only minor wear to mount; autographed by Johnson in margin below photograph. [Princeton, NJ, circa 1860]

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James Collins Johnson (1816-1902) was born into slavery in Maryland. On making his escape in 1839, he settled in Princeton, NJ, where he found work as a janitor at the college and was reunited with his free wife and son. In 1843, he was recognized by a Princeton student as an escaped slave and brought to trial. After his conviction, a local woman (perhaps with the support of some students) purchased his freedom for $500. After 1855, he left the employ of the college and was granted an exclusive contract to sell fruits and candy to the students from a wheelbarrow, becoming a fixture around campus for the remainder of the century.
During this period, college yearbooks were custom-made to order from original salt prints; each student decided which portraits would be bound together. In addition to students from the graduating class and faculty members, other campus personnel and scenes were often available for inclusion. This portrait of Johnson was removed from an 1860 Princeton yearbook; identical portraits also appear in other 1860 and 1861 examples.