Circassian woman in Council Bluffs, Iowa

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Circassion women were part of the P.T. Barnum circus. Of course, they were not really from Circassia in the North Caucasus. Barnum hyped them as such because of the renown of the beauty of women from that region and the...

Black train porter, Iowa

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1880s albumen round Kodak of Will James, a Black African American porter, and the “Mascotte” train at Council Bluffs, Iowa. Someone wrote the information in ink under the photograph. “Will James & The – “Mescotte” Council Bluffs. Iowa, Sep, 12,...