Research Catalog

Helen Armstead-Johnson photograph collection : personal collections

Title: Helen Armstead-Johnson photograph collection : personal collections [graphic].
Author: Johnson, Helen A.
Publication: [189-?]-[199-]

Available Online

NYPL Digital Collections

Details

Additional Authors

Found In

p1kc Johnson, Helen A. Helen Armstead-Johnson photograph collection: main record, 189-?-199- (CStRLIN)NYPG00-F335

Donor/Sponsor

Schomburg NEH Blacks on Stage: African-American Theater Arts Collections Project.

Alternative Title

America, be seated.
Blackbirds.
The burden of race (Motion picture)
By the beautiful sea.
The call of his people (Motion picture)
Casablanca (Motion picture)
Darkydom.
Dixie to Broadway.
Easy money (Motion picture)
Get set.
Harvey (Motion picture)
Hits and bits.
The jazz hound (Motion picture)
Lying lips (Motion picture)
Murder on Lenox Avenue (Motion picture)
Othello in Harlem.
The petrified forest (Motion picture)
Plantation revue.
Porgy.
Rarin' to go.
Running wild.
The schemers (Motion picture)
The secret sorrow (Motion picture)
Shuffle along.
Spitfire (Motion picture)
The sport of the gods (Motion picture)
St. Louis woman.
Stevedore.
Sugar Hill.
They won't forget (Motion picture)
Trader Horn.
Yes Sir, Mr. Bones (Motion picture)

Subject

Genre/Form

Publicity photographs – 1890-1979.
Group portraits – 1890-1979.
Photographic postcards – 1890-1979.
Lobby cards – 1890-1989.
Gelatin silver prints – 1890-1979.
Erotica – 1920-1939.
Contact sheets – 1950-1999.
Gelatin silver film negatives – 1950-1979.
Halftone photomechanical prints – 1910-1999.
Inscriptions – 1900-1979.
Autographs – 1900-1979.

Note

Title devised by cataloger.
Some photographs bear photographer's or photography studio's handstamp on verso or blind stamp on recto. Some items are signed or printed in the negative. Some items have handwritten notations on verso; some images have captions printed on recto. Some photographs are inscribed or autographed. A few items are matted; others are mounted. Some images have typewritten captions attached. Some images are mounted in scrapbooks. Some items are duplicates. Some photographs are damaged and/or deteriorating.
Collection contains work by Austin Hansen, Maurice Seymour, Elcha, and Woodard's Studio, among others.

Terms of Use (note)

Restricted: Permission of the copyright holder is required for duplication; no photocopying of original prints. The Fats Waller and Edna Morton scrapbooks are temporarily closed due to conservation needs.

Source (note)

Helen Armstead-Johnson;

Biography (note)

The Helen Armstead-Johnson photograph collection was assembled by English professor Helen Armstead-Johnson, beginning in the 1960s, during the course of her research into the contributions of African-Americans to the American stage. The collection consists of over 15,000 photographs, prints, postcards and transparencies that document African-American entertainers in various areas of the performing arts.

Indexes/Finding Aids (note)

Finding aid available

Linking Entry (note)

Forms part of: Helen Armstead-Johnson Photograph Collection, 189-?-199-.
Forms part of: Helen Armstead-Johnson Theater Collection, 1818-1994.

Local note

Sc Photo Helen Armstead-Johnson Photograph Collection
Sc MG 599

Call Number

Sc Photo Helen Armstead-Johnson Photograph Collection (Personal Collections)

OCLC

NYPG00-F337

Author

Johnson, Helen A., collector.

Title

Helen Armstead-Johnson photograph collection : personal collections [graphic].

Imprint

[189-?]-[199-]

Description

4475 items (9 lin. ft. 9 boxes)

52 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w ; 33 x 28 cm. and smaller.

963 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w ; 26 x 21 cm. and smaller.

255 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w ; 18 x 26 cm. and smaller.

1905 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w ; 14 x 20 cm. and smaller.

120 photographic prints : col. ; 18 x 26 cm. and smaller.

61 photolithographs : halftone ; 28 x 31 cm. and smaller.

311 ephemera ; 27 x 24 cm. and smaller.

687 postcards : b&w, col. ; 18 x 24 cm. and smaller.

30 photomechanical prints : halftone, col. ; 33 x 28 cm. and smaller.

3 cabinet photographs : b&w ; 17 x 11 cm. and smaller.

6 negatives : b&w ; 26 x 21 cm. and smaller.

49 clippings : b&w ; 20 x 23 cm. and smaller.

3 contact sheets : silver gelatin, b&w ; 26 x 21 cm. and smaller.

29 menus ; 36 x 28 cm. and smaller

1 drawing : col. ; 24 x 20 cm.

Summary

The Personal Collections series consists of the personal collections of the following individuals: Olga (Ollie) Burgoyne, Elliot Carpenter, Goldie Cisco, Opal (Ole) Cooper, Darryl Croxton, Sidney Easton, Gertrude Gardeen, Lottie Gee, Florence Mills, Edna Morton, Bernard H. Parker, Delores Parker, Eddie "Cutie" Perkins, Naomi Price, Andy Razaf, Maude Russell, Gertrude Saunders, Edith Spencer, Ulysses S. "Slow Kid" Thompson, Fats Waller, Leigh Whipper, Fess Williams, Happy Williams, and Dooley Wilson. The collections vary in size, some constituting one folder. Photographs consist of studio portraits, publicity portraits, stills from motion pictures and scenes from theatrical productions in which the individual appeared. Also included are some personal and family photographs. The collections also include numerous photographs inscribed by friends and colleagues.

Most collections document the performers' early careers even though in a few cases the later career and later life is also depicted. The U. S. "Kid" Thompson Collection includes images documenting his early career with Gentry Brothers' Dog and Poney Show (1911) and includes a few images of African-American circus performers. The collection also includes personal photographs, including images of Thompson's second wife, Dr. Gertrude Curtis, who was reputed to have been the first African-American women dentist in Harlem. Images of Florence Mills, Thompson's first wife, are filed separately and consist of studio portraits and production stills. The Eliott Carpenter Collection documents his career in the United States as well as his performances abroad. The collection includes numerous images of friends and family including his 50th wedding anniversary album. The Olga (Ollie) Burgoyne Collection includes an image of her early company, which toured Europe, and a view of her lingerie shop in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The Edna Morton Collection documents her early film career and contains stills from several of the Reol film productions in which she starred. It also includes several images of family and friends and also documents her later career as a partner in an upholstery and interior decoration business. The three Fats Waller scrapbooks were compiled by his manager, Theodore Ed Kirkeby, and document Waller's 1938 and 1939 European tour and his 1941 coast to coast United States tour. The scrapbooks include photographs and reviews of his performances, as well as memorabilia documenting Waller's tours.

Terms Of Use

Restricted: Permission of the copyright holder is required for duplication; no photocopying of original prints. The Fats Waller and Edna Morton scrapbooks are temporarily closed due to conservation needs.

Biography

The Helen Armstead-Johnson photograph collection was assembled by English professor Helen Armstead-Johnson, beginning in the 1960s, during the course of her research into the contributions of African-Americans to the American stage. The collection consists of over 15,000 photographs, prints, postcards and transparencies that document African-American entertainers in various areas of the performing arts.

Indexes

Finding aid available : folder level control.

Linking Entry

Forms part of: Helen Armstead-Johnson Photograph Collection, 189-?-199-.

Forms part of: Helen Armstead-Johnson Theater Collection, 1818-1994.

Local Note

Sc Photo Helen Armstead-Johnson Photograph Collection

Sc MG 599

Connect to:

NYPL Digital Collections

Added Author

Allen, Ted. Photographer

Aldene. Photographer

Bakchy, Boris. Photographer

Bernard, Bruno. Photographer

Brown, George W. Photographer

Bull, Clarence Sinclair. Photographer

Carr, Amos. Photographer

Connelly, James Hargis. Photographer

Fehl, Fred. Photographer

Geddes, Madison. Photographer

Hansen, Austin, 1910-1996. Photographer

Karger, Jiří. Photographer

Korman, Murray. Photographer

Kriegsmann, James J. Photographer

Little, Sam. Photographer

Morehead, Howard. Photographer

Nomsen, Ralph. Photographer

Parsons, Marion. Photographer

Rathone, R. T. Photographer

Reed, John E. Photographer

Rossner, Harry. Photographer

Seymour, Maurice. Photographer

Smith, Marvin, 1910-2003. Photographer

Apeda Studio (New York, N.Y.)

Apollo (New York, N.Y.)

Bell Studio (New York, N.Y.)

Bloom (Chicago, Ill.)

Broad-way Studio (New York, N.Y.)

Broughton Studio (Savannah, Ga.)

Campbell (New York, N.Y.)

Elcha (New York, N.Y.)

Empire (Los Angeles, Ca.)

Keystone (Los Angeles, Ca.)

Maurice (Chicago, Ill.)

Miff (Culver City, Ca.)

Mecca (Indianapolis, Ind.)

Monroe (Hollywood, Ca.)

Richard-Ward (New York, N.Y.)

Smith Studio (Cleveland, Oh.)

Standard (Philadelphia, Pa.)

Strand Bookstore

Swisher (Chicago, Ill.)

Woodard's Studio (Chicago, Ill.)

Woodard's Studio (Kansas City, Mo.)

Added Title

America, be seated.

Blackbirds.

The burden of race (Motion picture)

By the beautiful sea.

The call of his people (Motion picture)

Casablanca (Motion picture)

Darkydom.

Dixie to Broadway.

Easy money (Motion picture)

Get set.

Harvey (Motion picture)

Hits and bits.

The jazz hound (Motion picture)

Lying lips (Motion picture)

Murder on Lenox Avenue (Motion picture)

Othello in Harlem.

The petrified forest (Motion picture)

Plantation revue.

Porgy.

Rarin' to go.

Running wild.

The schemers (Motion picture)

The secret sorrow (Motion picture)

Shuffle along.

Spitfire (Motion picture)

The sport of the gods (Motion picture)

St. Louis woman.

Stevedore.

Sugar Hill.

They won't forget (Motion picture)

Trader Horn.

Yes Sir, Mr. Bones (Motion picture)

Found In:

p1kc Johnson, Helen A. Helen Armstead-Johnson photograph collection: main record, 189-?-199- (CStRLIN)NYPG00-F335

Research Call Number

Sc Photo Helen Armstead-Johnson Photograph Collection (Personal Collections)

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