Bearing an Oil Cask
This illustration shows two enslaved men transporting a large barrel on their shoulders using a pole in Brazil. The oil is not identified. Ewbank reported how "two Negroes passed me one day with a huge cask of oil suspended from a pole resting on their shoulders" (p. 728). Thomas Ewbank (1792–1870) was an English writer on practical mechanics. In 1845–1846, he traveled to Brazil and on his return published an account of his travels. He was then appointed United States Commissioner of Patents by President Taylor in 1849. Harper's Magazine (also called Harper's) is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance and the arts.
Image Title
Bearing an Oil Cask
RegID
SI-OB-232
Date
1853
Title
Bearing an Oil Cask
Source
Thomas Ewbank, "A Visit to the Land of the Cocoa and Palm," Harper's New Monthly Magazine (1853), vol. 7, p. 728. Copy in Special Collections Department, University of Virginia Library.
Language
English
Item sets
Miscellaneous Occupations & Economic Activities
Spatial Coverage
South America--Brazil
Reproduced In
Thomas Ewbank, "A Visit to the Land of the Cocoa and Palm," Harper's New Monthly Magazine (1853), vol. 7, p. 728. Copy in Special Collections Department, University of Virginia Library.
Researchers
Jerome Handler; Michael Tuite; Henry B. Lovejoy Graduate Research Assistants: Tiffany Beebe; Travis May
Identifier
HW9-728c