Antebellum Period Primary Sources

This page from the digitized Brooklyn Eagle newspaper archive reviews the performance of the United States Ethiopian Minstrels on 12 May 1848.

This 18 August 1859 advertisement page from the Brooklyn Eagle is a good example of the ways in which antebellum culture is revealed through seemingly mundane evidence.

This piece of ephemera from April 1854 expounds on the"science" of phrenology in rhyming verse, and reflects many of the beliefs and assumptions of the period.

This Boston photographer advertised its services and prices to the public, probably in the early 1850s.