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James Baldwin photograph collection

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Collection Data

Description
The collection (late 1940s to 1980s) depicts aspects of the personal life, literary career and some civil rights activities of writer and activist James Baldwin. Depictions of Baldwin's personal life before the 1960s, his family, and his civil rights activities are very limited.The Personal series consists of portraits and views of Baldwin at home; engaged in social activities with relatives, friends and colleagues; traveling; and individual and group portraits of friends and some family members. Some of the portraits of Baldwin could have been taken for publicity or photojournalistic purposes. Included in this series are views of Baldwin at his residence in St. Paul de Vence, France (ca. 1970-1987); documentation of Baldwin in Turkey (ca. 1965); and views of Baldwin visiting his friend, painter Beauford Delaney, at St. Anne's Hospital for the Insane, Montparnasse, Paris, France (1976). Among the other individuals depicted with Baldwin are Maya Angelou, Harry Belafonte, Barnard Hassell, and David Baldwin, James's brother.The Professional series consists of portraits of Baldwin used to promote his various publications; candid shots and views of Baldwin engaged in activities and events related to his literary endeavors, including book signings, lectures, meetings and interviews (late 1940s-1980s); and views of theatrical productions of his plays. The series includes a photo album depicting Baldwin's participation at a meeting on Lake Issuk-Kul, in Ala-Archa National Park, in Soviet-era Kyrgyzstan with other intellectuals from around the world (1986); and scenes and other images - mainly in the form of contact sheets - relating to different productions of his plays "The Amen Corner" and "Blues for Mister Charlie" (ca. 1960s), including a production starring Claudia McNeil, and a production directed by Frank Silvera and starring Beah Richards.Of note are a series of negatives depicting Pentecostal church services, some identified as Fireside Pentecostal Assembly, in Harlem taken by photographer Theodore Pelatowski, Baldwin's collaborator on an unpublished book entitled "Unto the Dying Lamb" (ca. 1948), for which Baldwin was awarded a Rosenwald Fellowship.The Civil Rights series (1960s-1980s) consists of views of Baldwin, documented in the form of contact sheets, conducting interviews, at an unidentified rally, and engaged in other civil rights activities, primarily in Louisiana and North Carolina (1960s). Included are publicity photographs for the 1982 documentary "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," in which Baldwin retraces his time in the South during the Civil Rights Movement.Related collections are the James Baldwin Portrait Collection and the Unto the Dying Lamb Collection.
Names
Baldwin, James, 1924-1987 (Collector)
Bauer, Jerry (Photographer)
Krementz, Jill (Photographer)
Pakay, Sedat (Photographer)
Pelatowski, Theodore (Photographer)
Petrus, Max (Photographer)
Schapiro, Steve (Photographer)
Shaw, Stephen M. (Photographer)
Weissmann, Mottke (Photographer)
Dates / Origin
Date Created: 1948 - 2002 (Inferred)
Library locations
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division
Shelf locator: Sc Photo James Baldwin Collection
Topics
Baldwin, James, 1924-1987
Issyk-Kul Forum (1986 :Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyz Republic)
African American authors
African American dramatists
African American political activists
African American gay men
Lectures and lecturing
Autographing
Meetings
Travel -- 1960-1989
African Americans -- France
African Americans -- Turkey
African Americans -- Social life and customs
Theatrical productions -- 1960-1969
Genres
Portraits
Group portraits
Publicity photographs
Snapshots
Photographs
Notes
Content: Title taken from James Baldwin Papers.
Content: Many photographs bear photographer's, photography studio's or photo agency's hand stamp on verso; some items bear photographer's signature on verso or recto.
Content: Many items bear handwritten captions on verso; some items bear typewritten caption labels on verso; some items bear printed captions on either verso or recto. Some items bear inscriptions.
Content: Some items have been cropped or bear cropping marks. Some items are mounted; one item is matted. Some items have been folded. Some items are duplicates.
Content: Collection contains work by Jerry Bauer, Jill Krementz, Sedat Pakay, Max Petrus, Steve Schapiro, and Sam Shaw, among others.
Biographical/historical: James Baldwin, 1924-1987, was a Harlem, New York, born African American writer and civil rights activist. Baldwin's writing, consisting of six novels, seven non-fiction works, two plays, a book of poetry, a children's book, and several essays and reviews, explored the complexities of race, sexual and class issues in the United States. Baldwin died in St. Paul de Vence, France, in 1987, and is buried at Ferncliff Cemetery, Hartsdale, New York.
Content: Forms part of the James Baldwin Papers, 1936-1992.
Physical Description
Gelatin silver prints
Dye coupler prints
Film negatives
Extent: 719 items (2.5 cubic ft., six boxes)
Extent: 283 photographic prints :gelatin silver, black and white ;36 x 28 cm and smaller.
Extent: 183 photographic prints :color ;21 x 26 cm and smaller.
Extent: 74 contact sheets :gelatin silver, black and white ;36 x 28 cm and smaller.
Extent: 13 photographic prints :inkjet, black and white ;31 x 23 cm and smaller.
Extent: 154 film negatives :gelatin silver, black and white ;26 x 21 cm and smaller.
Extent: 11 miscellaneous :photomechanical prints, photographic postcard, and dye diffusion prints, black and white ;15 x 23 cm and smaller.
Extent: 1 photo album (20 pages) ;31 x 41 cm
Organized into three series: I. Personal, 1940s-2000s ; II. Professional, 1949-1987; III. Civil rights activities, 1960s.
Type of Resource
Still image
Identifiers
RLIN/OCLC: 984698840
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b21257041
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 0b4eb800-a8d6-013c-6ddb-0242ac110006
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