Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Harold L. Valentine Jr. photograph album
- Dates:
- 1934-1944
- Creators:
- Valentine, Harold L., Jr., 1923-1977
- Abstract:
- Photograph album containing 85 gelatin silver photographs of Valentine family of Gouldtown New Jersey, as well as African-American soldiers on a military base during World War II.
- Extent:
- 1.17 linear feet (1 flat box)
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of Item], Harold L. Valentine Jr. photograph album, Mss 352. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This album contains 85 gelatin silver photographs, the first captioned "Harold L. Valentine Jr. Dec 25, 1934."
Photographs depict Valentine family members around the family home and farm in Gouldtown, as well as African-American soldiers on a military base, where Valentine served as a technical sergeant during World War II. Photographs in the album date to 1934-1944.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Gouldtown, which is located in New Jersey about 60 miles south of Philadelphia, was called "America's Oldest Negro Community" by Ebony magazine in 1952. It traces its roots to the 1700s when a freedman named Benjamin Gould married a Finnish woman. Community lore holds that in the mid-1700s two mixed race brothers, who were previously indentured servants, arrived from the West Indies, settled near the Goulds and began families of their own after purchasing the passage of two "mail order brides" from the Netherlands. Shortly thereafter, a mixed race couple (White and Native American) arrived from Cape May. It was descendants of these four families that formed the core of Gouldtown's population well into the latter half of the 20th century. Harold L. Valentine Jr., to whom the album originally belonged, was born in 1923 and lived in Gouldtown until his death in 1977. This is an important visual record of mid-20th century African-American life in one of the most historic African-American enclaves.
- Acquisition information:
- Library purchase, 2018.
- Physical location:
- Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2020-01-13 09:18:35 -0800 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
The collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Research Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Research Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Research Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of Item], Harold L. Valentine Jr. photograph album, Mss 352. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.
- Location of this collection:
-
UC Santa Barbara LibrarySanta Barbara, CA 93106-9010, US
- Contact:
- (805) 893-3062