Teal, Arthur and Elnora.

[Panoramic Photograph Depicting African American Soldiers, Bandsmen and Medical Personnel].

[Austin, Texas]: Teal Houston: [1920s]. Panoramic photograph measuring 8” x 35½”. Very good: some chipping at edges; surface loss and staining along the far right with minor impacts to the image.

This is an extraordinary photograph depicting Black troops and nurses in Austin, taken by an African American photography firm. We know the photo was taken in Austin, Texas as several Austin-area businesses can be seen on signs along the back wall, the most prominent of which was Calcasieu Lumber. The photo shows a few hundred people. From the left edge to the center is a brass band and the foreground of the center shows Black troops including a few women, holding United States flags. Along the right are medical personnel and many tents can be seen in the background. We have not been able to determine the event that brought these people together, but posit that it shows a meeting of veterans of World War I, possibly also showing active military members.

The photographer is important: the photo is signed in the lower right corner “Teal Houston.” From the Texas State History Association website:

“The Teal Portrait Studio, an influential African-American photography studio that operated in Houston for more than forty years, was established in 1919 by Elnora and Arthur Chester Teal. The studio's quality work, advertised as "photography of a better kind," contributed to its longevity. During the early 1900s, photography studios operated by African Americans generally lasted only a few years, in part because their client base was typically limited to Blacks, while some White photographers were receptive to clients of all races. Elnora Teal's success as a photographer is especially notable: shortly after she entered the field, the 1920 United States census documented only 100 Black female photographers out of a total of 34,867 photographers active in the country at that time. Elnora Teal learned how to take and develop photographs from her husband A. C. Teal, who began his career as an itinerant photographer. They met while he was working in Waco, and subsequently married and settled in Houston. The couple opened a studio at 1111 Andrews Street in 1919; it soon developed a reputation as the best Black photography studio in the city. Houston city directories indicate that the Teals moved their studio to a number of different sites, and frequently ran two studios at the same time. They generally operated in the Third, Fourth, and Fifth wards, where Houston's Black community was concentrated at that time. According to Lucille B. Moore, an assistant to the Teals from 1925 to 1946, Elnora Teal operated the main studio after her husband opened a second shop, and was no longer considered an assistant to him. A. C. Teal continued to travel around the state throughout his professional career, photographing colleges such as Wylie, Bishop, and Prairie View.”

An amazing and celebratory image. Very good. Item #9375

Price: $2,000.00