Hi everybody! I thought as a special gift since I have been slightly behind schedule on getting posts out that I would treat you to a short, but great blog on a small, but terrific exhibit at my home museum Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal.

James P. Ball

Proving that museums can make great exhibits out of small galleries, An American Journey: The Life and Photography of James Presley Ball is an exhibit of only about 500 square feet that delivers unprecedented exhibitry regarding the life and times of a middle class African American from the nineteenth century. The exhibit “invites you to explore the United States during a turbulent and fascinating century through” Ball’s lens, and it does not disappoint.

From the lobby you can see props that would have been common in a photographer’s studio during the Victorian era. There is a beautiful chair, and – my favorite – the head brace to hold your head still during exposure as to not produce a blurred image.

This pint-sized exhibition teaches that Louis Daguerre introduced the Daguerreotype in 1839, and that it was only one of many options in early photography. This exhibit is full of daguerreotypes, photo albums, and Carte de Visites that even First Lady Lincoln was known to have collected. You even learn that Ball took one of the most prominent images of Frederick Douglass during a visit to Cincinnati by Douglass in 1869.

Frederick Douglass

The Cincinnati Museum Center has an extensive J. P. Ball and Partners Photograph Collection of over 400 images by Ball, Alexander Thomas, and other partners. Of course we couldn’t put the entire collection on display, so there is a monitor with images that were unable to put into the exhibit rotating so you can see even more great photography from the Ball studio.

My Professional Opinion –

This is a no brainer. The exhibit is FREE and makes an amazing companion exhibit to America I AM: The African American Imprint. The exhibit is well laid out in a single loop format and does not overwhelm you by trying to put more into the space than needs to be to adequately tell this riveting story; nor is the exhibition just “old pictures.” Photography shop props and other artifacts help add texture to the narrative of this great African American Cincinnatian.

Did you want to see it while you visit America I AM? Well you’d better hurry. An American Journey: The Life and Photography of James Presley Ball closes Sunday, October 24, 2010. (Yet, America I AM will be around until January 2, 2011.)

Website: http://www.cincymuseum.org/explore_our_sites/special_exhibits_events/current_exhibits/Ball.asp

Twitter: @cincymuseum