J.T. Zealy
1850, March
Renty

Daguerreotype, 1/4 plate
8.9 x 6.4 cm
 
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
Peabody Number: 35-5-10/53038
 
Louis Agassiz commissioned J.T. Zealy to take a series of Daguerreotypes of slaves in 1850. The title "Renty" comes from the name of the slave of B.F. Taylor, a planter from Columbia, South Carolina. Renty was born in the Congo.
 
Joey Garrison, Harvard University sued over allegedly profiting from what are believed to be the earliest photos of American slaves, (azcentral.com / USA Today, 20 March 2019)
 
LL/53067