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Photograph of African Americans at Pullman Saloon
MC307  
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  • Scope and Contents
  • Conditions Governing Access
  • Processing Information
  • Immediate Source of Acquisition
  • Preferred Citation
  • Publication Rights

  • Language of Material: English
    Contributing Institution: University of California, Davis Library, University Archives
    Title: Photograph of African Americans at Pullman Saloon
    Creator: Shaw, Herbert T.
    Identifier/Call Number: MC307
    Physical Description: 1 photographic print Image: 8.5 x 6.5 inches, mounted to 12 x 10 inch card Stamped imprint on recto below image
    Date: circa 1905
    Abstract: Group portrait of African Americans in the Pullman Saloon in Tonopah, Nevada.
    Physical Location: Researchers should contact Archives and Special Collections to request collections, as many are stored offsite.

    Scope and Contents

    A group portrait of African Americans with 18 men, one woman, two young girls, and two dogs. Several of the gentlemen are smoking cigars and appear to be enjoying themselves. One man seated in the front row holds a puppy and a young girl with ribbons in her hair stands to his side with her hand on his knee. Charmingly, a darkcoated spaniel is seated on a chair in front of the group. The Pullman Saloon was the hub of African American social life in Tonopah, Nevada, a town established in 1900 following the discovery of silver and gold in the area. The group pictured here likely included a large number of the boomtown's Black residents. One of the sitters is wearing a Pullman porter uniform (seated, third from left), and given the name of the saloon, it is likely that a number of the other gentlemen pictured were Pullman porters as well. One of the proprietors of the saloon, Mr. Hall, was noted by the Tonopah Bonanza on August 24, 1907, to be the left-fielder of the Tonopah Pullman baseball team, an all-Black team which likely included some of the men pictured here. We are not aware of any other photograph from the period that shows African Americans posing in front of a Black-owned saloon in the American West. According to Mautz, the photographer Herbert T. Shaw was in Tonopah circa 1905.
    [Description provided by Back of Beyond Books]

    Conditions Governing Access

    Collection is open for research.

    Processing Information

    Liz Phillips created this finding aid with information supplied by Back of Beyond Books.

    Immediate Source of Acquisition

    Purchased from Back of Beyond Books, 2020.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Photograph of African Americans at Pullman Saloon, MC307, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.

    Publication Rights

    All applicable copyrights for the collection are protected under chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code. Requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California as the owner of the physical items. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    African Americans -- Nevada -- History
    African Americans -- Pictorial works
    Michael and Margaret B. Harrison Western Research Center