Emma Louise Hyers, in a scene, circa 1880

Description: Emma Louise Hyers in a scene identified in some sources as from "Out of Bondage" and in other sources as from "Urlina, the African Princess." She is seated on a wooden chair draped with fabrics, in front of a painted faux architectural backdrop.
Emma Louise Hyers was an African American singer and performed in black musical theater. With her sister, Anna Madah Hyers, Joseph Bradford and Pauline Hopkins, the Hyers Sisters produced the "first full-fledged musical plays in which African Americans themselves comment on the plight of the slaves and the relief of Emancipation without the disguises of minstrel comedy." Their first play was Out of Bondage (also known as Out of the Wilderness), followed by Urlina, the African Princess, The Underground Railway, and Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Caption: Caption on front: Emma Louise Hyers. Contralto. Written on back of photo: Emma Louise Hyers, Contralto is shown in a scene from "Out of Bondage" performed in the Bush Street Theatre, San Francisco, Calif. March 24-31, 1879. Credit: De Young Museum, S.F. Neg. 4___?. Bradley Rulofson (?) photographers. For further biographical information see "Profiles of Negro Womanhood" by Sylvia Dannett. Vol. One. The Hyers sisters performed throughout the U.S. and on other continents as well.