Postcard of Harriet Tubman, Nelson Davis, and daughter Gertie: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black-and-white postcard featuring a photograph of Harriet Tubman, her husband Nelson Davis, and their adopted daughter Gertie. Tubman stands on the left holding a round pan. The postcard was sent to Mariline Wilkins in Philadelphia, PA from Sedalia Gaines in 1992.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1887; printed 1992
• Published by: Pomegranate Communications, Inc., American
• Photograph by: William Haight Cheney, 1850 - 1905
• Subject of: Harriet Tubman, American, 1822 - 1913
• Subject of: Nelson Davis, American, died 1888
• Subject of: Gertie Davis, born 1873
• Written by: Sedalia Gaines
• Received by: Mariline Northrup Wilkins
• Type: portraits
• Type: postcards
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 6 x 4 1/4 in. (15.2 x 10.8 cm)
• Place depicted: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Auburn, Cayuga County, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Antislavery
• Topic: Correspondence
• Topic: Photography
• Object number: 2009.50.13
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Charles L. Blockson
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: Public domain Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.