BLACK SATIN COLLECTIBLES

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presents

Reprints of

THE HAMPTON INSTITUTE PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION

BY

FRANCES BENJAMIN JOHNSTON

FOR

THE 1900 PARIS EXPOSITION

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Reprinted on 11" x 8.5" glossy photo paper.

$25.00

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History of Hampton University

"Hampton University has embraced the principles of "Education for life" and "learning by doing," since its founding in 1868 during the days of Reconstruction. Originally opening its doors as Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute to prepare promising young African-American men and women to lead and teach their newly-freed people, the University has continually sought to instill in its students the precepts of efficiency, character and service to society-standards that continue to remain both timeless and relevant.

Founded on the banks of the Virginia Peninsula by Brigadier General Samuel Chapman Armstrong, the 29 year-old son of missionary parents, Hampton became an oasis of opportunity for the thousands of newly-freed people gathered behind Union lines. With the aid of the American Missionary Association, the school was established to train selected young men and women to "go out to teach and lead their people," and to build a viable industrial system on the strength of self-sufficiency, intelligent labor and solid moral character.

In 1878, Hampton established a formal education program for Native Americans, beginning the Institute's lasting commitment to serving a multicultural population. Hampton's historic Native American education program spanned more than forty years, with the last student graduating in 1923. Recent initiatives have attracted Native American students to renew their ties with Hampton.

In the early days, support for the Institute came from the Freedman's Bureau, Northern philanthropists and religious groups, with the first classroom building erected in 1870. The first baccalaureate degrees were awarded in 1922. Two years later, the school's name was changed to Hampton Institute, reflecting college-level accreditation. In 1984, Hampton's Board of Trustees formally adopted a university structure and changed the name to Hampton University, which today represents the unparalleled standard of excellence in American higher education."

Above text and images taken from The Official Hampton University Website.

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FRANCES BENJAMIN JOHNSTON

(1864 - 1952)

 
Frances Benjamin Johnston, one of America’s earliest female photographers and photojournalists, spent much of her life documenting the people and architecture of Virginia. She was born in Grafton, West Virginia, on January 15, 1864, but her family eventually moved to Washington, D.C., where she was educated both at home and at a convent school in nearby Maryland.
 
Hoping to become an artist, she studied for a year at the Academie Julien in Paris. Upon her return to Washington, Frances developed an interest in photography, a field that few women had been able to enter as it traditionally required the use of heavy equipment and an extensive knowledge of specialized (and sometimes dangerous) chemicals. However, technological innovations in the 1880s made cameras lightweight, portable, and simpler to use, and a few adventurous women such as Johnston embraced the opportunity to explore this art form.
 
Obtaining her first camera from family friend George Eastman, Johnston studied photography at the Smithsonian Institution and began contributing articles with her own pictures to publications such as Demorest’s Family Magazine and the Ladies’ Home Journal. By 1890, she had her own portrait studio in Washington. During her long career, Johnston photographed many famous Americans, such as Mark Twain, Booker T. Washington, and Susan B. Anthony.
 
She was the official White House photographer during the Harrison, Cleveland, McKinley, Roosevelt, and Taft administrations. She became one of America’s great social and documentary photographers when in 1899 she was commissioned to document the success of the Hampton Normal & Agricultural Institute in Hampton, Virginia. It was the first educational establishment to open its doors to African-Americans and Native-Americans. The resulting photo album was shown at the Universal Exposition of 1900 in Paris, in the “Exhibit of American Negroes,” and later as “The Hampton Album” at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

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FRANCES BENJAMIN JOHNSTON

(1864 - 1952)

 
Frances Benjamin Johnston, one of America’s earliest female photographers and photojournalists, spent much of her life documenting the people and architecture of Virginia. She was born in Grafton, West Virginia, on January 15, 1864, but her family eventually moved to Washington, D.C., where she was educated both at home and at a convent school in nearby Maryland.
 
Hoping to become an artist, she studied for a year at the Academie Julien in Paris. Upon her return to Washington, Frances developed an interest in photography, a field that few women had been able to enter as it traditionally required the use of heavy equipment and an extensive knowledge of specialized (and sometimes dangerous) chemicals. However, technological innovations in the 1880s made cameras lightweight, portable, and simpler to use, and a few adventurous women such as Johnston embraced the opportunity to explore this art form.
 
Obtaining her first camera from family friend George Eastman, Johnston studied photography at the Smithsonian Institution and began contributing articles with her own pictures to publications such as Demorest’s Family Magazine and the Ladies’ Home Journal. By 1890, she had her own portrait studio in Washington. During her long career, Johnston photographed many famous Americans, such as Mark Twain, Booker T. Washington, and Susan B. Anthony.
 
She was the official White House photographer during the Harrison, Cleveland, McKinley, Roosevelt, and Taft administrations. She became one of America’s great social and documentary photographers when in 1899 she was commissioned to document the success of the Hampton Normal & Agricultural Institute in Hampton, Virginia. It was the first educational establishment to open its doors to African-Americans and Native-Americans. The resulting photo album was shown at the Universal Exposition of 1900 in Paris, in the “Exhibit of American Negroes,” and later as “The Hampton Album” at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

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