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Antique 1929 Glass Plate Negative African American Horse Show Stablemen OOAK
Original 1929 camera-original glass plate negative capturing an extraordinary, intimate documentary portrait of two African American stablemen preparing between exhibits at a competitive horse show.
The composition centers on two men seated in folding director-style camp chairs inside the stable or paddock staging area:
The Scene & Action: One man, seated at left in a clean white collared shirt and suspenders with shaving lather coating his cheeks and jawline, leans forward to look into a framed tabletop vanity mirror. The man seated opposite him, dressed in a flat newsboy cap, tailored tweed/wool jacket, and textured corduroy trousers with laced leggings, holds the mirror steadily in place for his companion.
Background & Staging: Behind them sits a heavy traveling trunk with grooming supplies, a numbered stall placard ("201"), hanging horse blankets (one stenciled with the initials "YMMR"), and structural stable partitions.
Historical Significance: A rare, dignified, and candid visual record of African American equestrian workers, grooms, and stable hands in the late 1920s—a demographic vital to the American show and racing circuit yet seldom documented with this degree of quiet camaraderie and technical clarity.
Please Note: This listing is for the original antique glass plate negative only (along with the original vintage envelope shown). Any positive photographic images shown in this listing are modern inverted digital scans provided solely as a visual representation to show what a finished print would look like. No physical paper photograph, modern print, or paper image of any kind is included with this purchase.
Condition & Preservation:Glass plate is structurally intact and free of cracks or breaks. The gelatin silver emulsion is remarkably sharp with clean highlights, subtle tonal graduation across skin tones and fabrics, and rich shadow detail. Authentic period edge wear is strictly confined to the extreme outer perimeter margins.
The glass plate negative measures 4 x 5In.
If you collect glass negatives, please check out our collection in our store. We are currently listing thousands of original glass photo negatives from this DJD collection through the remainder of the year. Follow our store, and feel free to reach out about any questions about the negatives in this collection.
Ships with extreme care in archival materials to ensure safe transit. Feel free to reach out with any requests or questions).
Combined shipping is available (with other glass negatives)
