Among many, many other items on display in her home, Rosetta Quisenberry has a large collection of postcards she calls "black memorabilia" stashed away in envelopes and folders --
images she's been amassing since she was 24 years old. Through the years, she's given up trying to keep a running tally, since she's always adding to her collection.
"I don't count anymore, because you're always adding to it," she said. "If you find another piece, you'll buy it."
Her collection, which she has featured in a four-part, self-published series of books, is separated into two groups: "the positive," which is made up of early 20th century portraits of African Americans, and "the negative," which consist of politically incorrect, racially insensitive, and outright vulgar illustrations mocking black culture.
Some of the negative postcards date back as far as the 1880s, but as far as her collection goes, Quisenberry isn't interested in learning artist information or finding out what era they came from.
"I'm not concerned with time," she said. "I'm concerned with what they can tell you."
Artists in this medium relied on a handful of racist stereotypes and symbolism to lampoon African Americans, and Quisenberry can find hidden meaning in many of the images which may not have been apparent with a cursory glance.
"These kind of images were being made about us, and nobody ever told me that this stuff existed," she said about the first time she saw a postcard of this nature. "I was utterly shocked. I was wiped out when I first saw it, literally. I got so hot."
In stark contrast to these illustrations, Quisenberry's collection of portraits (which were also used as postcards) give a more reliable depiction of black culture.
To find new items for her collection, she exhausts a number of outlets (antique stores, flea markets), but now, she has also begun to rely on other people bringing items to her.
"They know Mrs. Quisenberry wants this kind of stuff," she said. "I've had people donate several things to me that's of great value to me."
For more information on Quisenberry's series of books, visit www.asagaoftheblackman.com.