Enslaved Nursemaid with Child

Tintype photograph of an enslaved Black woman holding a young white child, who may be a descendant of Patrick Henry. The woman, an enslaved nursemaid, was likely held in bondage at Winston-on-the-Staunton plantation in Campbell County, Virginia. Neither sitter has been identified.

Tintype was a popular form of photography in the mid-to-late nineteenth century, first being invented in 1853 by Aldophe Alexandre Martin in Paris, France. This process created a direct positive on a thin sheet of metal, widely referred to as tin, and was typically used for portraits. It grew out of favor once albumen paper-based prints were invented.