"Richard Samuel Roberts"{April 4,1880-1936}

Born in South Carolina he was a self-taught photographer,who
operated his own studio In Fernandina,Florida,where he gained a
reputation as a portrait maker.Success was achieved as a result of
long hours of study that could be only done after he had finished his
day's work as stevedore and later as a fireman laborer.He read books and
magazines on photography,becoming familiar with the nunnces of  lighting,angles,shadows,and backgrounds.His dream was t become a master portrait-maker,with every picture a true reproduction of the subject.He rented a studio in the heart of South Carolina's African-American commercial district on Washington Street in 1922.At the same time working as a post office custodian from 4 a.m.-noon.For the next 14 years,the thousands of pictures that Richard took comprise a stunning visual history of every aspect of the African-American community in South Carolina's capital city.He frequently took his camera into the
heart of the segregated African American District of Columbia and also to other towns and cities in the state.Richard's clientele was,for the most part,Columbia's African American populatin.He photographed every facet of
the community including bankers,teachers,social workers,and magicians,he also made portraits of all people,regardless of race or economic conditions.
Because his small studio had only limied flor space and poor natural light ,he was forced to
improvsed in use of his equipment and background Richard was an innovator and a perfectionist,and he prided himself on the quality of his work."No other gift causes so much  real and lasting joy as
the gift of your photograph,"he wrote in a leaflet publicizing his activities in the 1920s.To have " a true likeness"of oneself was just as ecessary as every other necessity in life.
After his death his children stored his negativities in the family home in theArsenal Hill section
of Columbia.His work cae to light in 1977,when researchers at the University of South Carolina's South Carolinian Library,though his children,retrieved more than 3,000 negatives.