A Black Ball
ca. 1830.
9” x 10 15/16”
La Pastorelle. Life in Philadelphia. Aquatint, colored.
London, H. Isaacs, Soho Square, London. William Summers delineator, Charles Hunt Engraver.
This prints is intended to portray how people of color were trivialized and mocked during the 19th century. Ruth Starr Rose grew up feeling embarrassed by these depictions and made it her life’s work to portray Marylanders of African descent with the dignity and self-respect that she knew and admired.