Colored Americans Who Have Served in the United States Congress [caption title]

Indianapolis: Indianapolis Recorder, 1901. Illustrated broadside, 15.75 x 20 inches. Backed on cardboard long ago. Noticeably stained and chipped, but with very little loss to content. Some surface wear and a few closed tears. A prime candidate for conservation, in fair condition, and priced accordingly. A very rare African-American uplift poster issued at the turn of the 20th century by The Indianapolis Recorder, a notable African-American newspaper. The poster is a celebration of African American representation in the United States Congress, with illustrated portraits of twenty Black men who served in the House of Representatives. Joseph Rainey was the first such elected, directly following the ratification of the 15th Amendment in 1870. The roster continues through to George Henry White whose term was up in 1901, helping to date the broadside. Among the other notable men are Joseph Hayne Rainey of South Carolina (the first African American to serve in the House); Robert Smalls of South Carolina (who famously stole a Confederate steamer and sailed it out of Charleston harbor early during the Civil War); Hiram Revels of Mississippi (the first African American to serve in the U.S. Senate); and numerous other men from Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, Virginia, and Florida.

According to a notice printed at lower left, the broadside was issued "Compliments of The Indianapolis Recorder, Indiana's Best Negro Newspaper." The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis provides deeper background on the newspaper: "The Indianapolis Recorder is a weekly newspaper that has been published since 1895. It is the nation’s fourth-oldest surviving African American newspaper, and the longest continuously operated Black publication in Indiana.... The Recorder was launched as a two-page church directory by print shop owner George P. Stewart and attorney William Porter. Coverage included church news, local announcements, and other topics of interest to Black churches, fraternities, sororities, and social clubs. In 1897, the publication expanded to four pages and adopted the Recorder name. Rapid growth of the Black community in Indianapolis and other Indiana cities led to greater demand for news. The Recorder met this demand by providing more coverage of general news, politics, religious news, and social matters. By 1899, circulation numbered more than 20,000."

The only other copy of the present broadside that we know of sold at Bonhams a decade ago.