Confederate Cabinet (vignette photographs of Jefferson Davis, A. H. Stephens, J. C. Breckenridge, Mallory, J. P. Benjamin, J. H. Reagan) 1861 - 1865

Curator: Wow, even in this small format, the weight of history feels palpable. Editor: It's incredibly haunting, isn’t it? Something about the sepia tone…like looking at ghosts caught in amber. Curator: Exactly. What we're looking at is a photographic compilation created by E. & H. T. Anthony, titled "Confederate Cabinet". It presents vignette portraits of Jefferson Davis, A. H. Stephens, and other key figures. Editor: Vignettes, right, those oval crops... Feels almost like they’re specimens pinned to a board. Curator: Considering the context, there is an argument to be made about its problematic nature. These are the faces of a regime built upon the subjugation of enslaved people. The circulation of this image would have helped solidify that power. Editor: Absolutely, and now we grapple with its legacy, how we should confront this history. How do we hold the weight of the past, acknowledging the suffering, while still trying to move forward? Curator: It is a constant negotiation. I suppose, in a way, this artifact becomes a tool for reckoning with our past and the ideologies that continue to shape our present. Editor: It is a heavy truth captured in sepia tones and careful portraiture.