African American working class clothing as photographed by William E. Wilson and Robert E. Williams : 1872 to 1898

Abstract

William E. Wilson and Robert E. Williams' photographs housed in the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, at The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia provide an excellent source of primary material regarding the dress of working class African Americans in Georgia during the late nineteenth century. Wilson worked in Savannah, Georgia from 1883 to 1893 and Williams worked in Augusta, Georgia from 1872 to 1898. The objectives of this thesis were to examine the photographs of Wilson and Williams, to identify the types of clothing worn by the African Americans photographed by Wilson and Williams, and to develop a checklist of working class dress from secondary sources. The persons photographed by Wilson and Williams tended to wear functional garments that were simplistic in cut and durable, but fashionable elements of dress were present in some of those photographed.