Conditions Governing Access
Conditions Governing Use
Preferred Citation
Scope and Contents
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Contributing Institution:
California State University Dominguez Hills, Gerth Archives and Special Collections
Title:
African
American
Photograph Collection
Creator:
Varner, Josephine
Creator:
Patterson, Evelyn G.
Creator:
Bowie, Albert L.
Creator:
Washington, Mary Lou
Identifier/Call Number: SPC.2021.003
Physical Description:
6 boxes
(one document box, four photograph album boxes, one oversized box, one oversized panoramic photograph)
Physical Description:
5.33 Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): circa 1880s-2010s
Date (bulk): 1940-1980
Abstract: This collection contains photograph albums, as well as single and loose photographs featuring images of
African
Americans
. Images depict families; children; soldiers; and infants in a variety of settings and participating in many activities such
as parties and events; holidays such as Christmas and Easter; inside and in front of homes; in front of cars; birthdays; churches;
parks; vacations; and others. Also included in this collection are school, graduation, and military portraits; and some news
clippings, brochures, flyers, postcards, and other ephemera in a few of the photograph albums.
Language of Material:
English
.
Conditions Governing Access
There are no access restrictions on this collection.
Conditions Governing Use
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives
and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical
materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Preferred Citation
Scope and Contents
The
African
American
Photograph Collection (circa 1880s-2010s) contains 6 boxes and 4.42 linear feet consisting of photograph albums and some
loose photographs featuring images of
African
Americans
. Photographs in this collection include images of: families; children; infants; soldiers; school, graduation, and military
portraits; people inside and in front of homes; people posing in front of cars; candid photographs of people participating
in a variety of activities such as reading, talking on the phone, gathering around a table for a meal, and sitting on couches.
There are also images of people in parks, gardens, and fields; images of celebrations and events such as birthdays, weddings,
attending church; and photographs taken around holidays such as Christmas and Easter. This collection contains ten series.
Series 1 contains photograph albums compiled by Albert L. Bowie; Series 2 contains a photograph album compiled by Evelyn G.
Patterson as well as a few loose items related to her education such as report cards, a certificate, and diploma; Series 3
contains a photograph album regarding the Richardson, Henry, and Barnett families and contains mostly portrait style photographs
as well as a few loose items such as funeral and graduation programs; Series 4 contains a photograph album compiled by Josephine
Varner, as well as a folder of loose photographs, documents, and postcards; Series 5 contains one photograph album belonging
to Mary Lou Washington, as well as a military patch; school letterman patches; business cards; thank you notes and cards;
funeral and event programs; a student progress report and report card; and a handwritten love letter; Series 6 contains eleven
photograph albums in which the album compilers or creators are unknown. A majority of the photograph albums in this series
do not have any dates or any other descriptive information such as names of people featured in the photographs, or the location
where the photographs were taken; Series 7 contains single and loose photographs that were not part of any album; Series 8
contains black-and-white photographs of soldiers presumably taken in the 1940s; Lastly, Series 9 contains seven postcards
featuring images of people and locations in the Los Angeles, CA. area.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Photographs located under "Cabinet Cards, Tintypes, Cartes des Visites, Postcards, and Portraits" are courtesy of the Mervyn
M. Dymally
African
American
Political and Economic Institute (MDAAPEI)
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Scrapbooks
Photographs
African
American
families
African
American
soldiers
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
Friendship
Holidays
Parties
Portraits
African
American
children -- Photographs
African
American
families -- Photographs
Photography -- United States -- History
Los Angeles (Calif.)
Postcards
Philadelphia (Pa.)
Daughters of Improved, Benevolent, Protective Order of Elks of the World