AFRICAN AMERICAN NURSE or NANNY HOLDING a WHITE BABY Original 1884 CABINET CARD PHOTOGRAPH

Original 1884 or 1885 Cabinet Card Photograph featuring an unnamed African American nurse or nanny dressed in a natural form bustle dress pinstripe uniform with matching pinafore apron and headscarf holding a white baby in a long gown and lace top. The back of the card does not identify the Black domestic employee but a penned notation states D.B.M. 3.5 months. The child's name is Dorothy B. Mann. Original Cabinet Card Photograph in VERY GOOD CONDITION. Albumen Print, 6.5" x 4.25" inches, the Photographer is Hugh J. Brady. Printed on the verso: "HJ BRADY Leading Photographer. COR[ner] MAIN and PARK STS. Orange N.J. Additional Copies Can Always Be Obtained (truncated) And Instantaneous Portraits Of Children A Specialty"
In 1880, 35% of married Black women and 73% of single Black women were in the labor force compared with only 7% of married white women and 24 % of single white women, most Black women were in low wage domestic service (Economic Policy Institute, 2019). The legacy of Black women's employment in industries that lack worker protections continues today. The culling of the federal workforce reinforces this historic discrimination.
Hugh J. Brady (American, b. circa 1859) Professional Photographer whose studio and business were in Orange, New Jersey from about 1884 to 1910. His cabinet cards from 1884-1885 were printed with variations of Main Street, Corner of Park Avenue, Orange, NJ. In 1886 his business burned down "The photographic gallery of Hugh J. Brady, Main and Park streets, Orange, N. J., was destroyed by fire lately." (Anthony's Photographic Bulletin of 1886.) After rebuilding, his cabinet cards were printed with the street address 393 Main Street, Orange, NJ, from 1887 to 1910. (Inventory #: 2052)