Analysing portrayals of African Americans and Russian serfs in paintings, adverts, fiction, poetry, and ephemera housed in American and Russian archives, Amanda Brickell Bellows argues that these depictions shaped collective memory of slavery and serfdom, affected the development of national consciousness, and influenced public opinion.

Previously issued in print: 2020.

Radical literature on the eve of emancipations -- Popular historical fiction -- Illustrated periodicals and lithographs -- Oil paintings -- Advertisements and ephemera -- Literature and visual culture at the turn of the twentieth century.