Sojourner Truth Signed CDV Quite Unique "I Sell the Shadow to Support the Substance"

A small photocard measuring 2.5" x 4", Michigan, dated 1864. A seated portrait of Truth, pictured knitting. The photograph is captioned "I Sell the Shadow to Support the Substance". On verso the image is signed with Truth's mark, "X", signed in pencil, with "Her Mark" to authenticate the "X" as being her signature. While Sojourner Truth was a capable and respected orator, she could not read or write, hence the use of an "X". At the verso bottom is a statement that the image was entered according to Act of Congress by Sojourner Truth in 1864. The photograph has a small loss at the top right corner. Light toning, foxing, and soiling throughout and bumped corners.

Sojourner Truth, born Isabella Baumfree (Ca. 1797-1883), was born into slavery in New York. In 1826, she escaped to freedom with her infant daughter and later sued for the recovery of her son. In doing so, she became the first black woman to win such a case against a white man. Truth would go on to be an iconic abolitionist and women's rights activist. From 1864 through 1867, she lived in northern Virginia and the Washington, D. C. area and tirelessly worked with the newly emancipated slave refugees of Freeman's Village in Washington. Truth was well ahead of her time and despite being illiterate, she became a powerful and persuasive speaker; she used public lectures in order to support herself. She also used images such as this one to raise funds for various causes and copyrighted her own image, then a very uncommon practice for an individual to do. By owning control of her image, her “shadow,” Sojourner Truth could sell it and direct the proceeds as she saw fit. At a human-rights convention, Truth commented that she “used to be sold for other people’s benefit, but now she sold herself for her own.”

This particular image was consigned to a leading central Virginian auction house with its provenance as being from the property of a private Richmond, Virginia estate. Through the consigner's own research, it was verified that Truth signed her name by using an "X" and that her mark can be found on several petitions to the U. S. Congress, with "her mark" used to authenticate the "X" as being hers. It was typical at the time for people who could not sign their name to sign official documents with an X while a witness would verify the signature by adding "his", or in this case, "her mark" on either side of that person's X. While signed in pencil, we strongly believe this signed CDV is authentic and was requested her by an early admirer to sign, either at one of her lectures or in the streets of Washington. This would be consistent with the practice of individuals carrying pencils in their pocket diaries and notebooks, as opposed to carrying around cumbersome and messy ink wells. Fountain pens did not come into mass production until the mid-1850s, and even then, they were very prone to leakage.

A signed CDV by Sojourner Truth is exceptionally rare. No other has been known to exist. The image's 1864 copyright, has been signed in pencil as opposed to ink, and its discovery in the central Virginia collection all point to the image being one-of-a-kind and would be an extraordinary opportunity for any collector of American history.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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