Finding aid for the Cliff Hall negatives and photographs 7010

Diann Benti
USC Libraries Special Collections
2021 October
Doheny Memorial Library 206
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, California 90089-0189
specol@usc.edu


Contributing Institution: USC Libraries Special Collections
Title: Cliff Hall negatives and photographs
Creator: Hall, Cliff, 1925-2020
Identifier/Call Number: 7010
Identifier/Call Number: /repositories/3/resources/970
Physical Description: 17.6 Linear Feet 17 boxes
Date (inclusive): c.1950s-2008
Abstract: This collection primarily consists of undeveloped negatives, snapshots, prints, and correspondence by Los Angeles native photographer Cliff Hall (1925-2020), which appear chiefly to date from the 1950s to early 2000s. The images reflect photo shoots and candid images made by Hall of society and cultural events and often document Los Angeles' Black community.
Language of Material: English.
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Biographical / Historical

Cliff Hall (1925-2020) was a prominent Black photographer, inventor, and designer in Los Angeles, California. Clifford Augustus Hall was born in Los Angeles on August 11, 1925. He served in the United States Navy from 1943 to 1946 and later studied at the Fred Archer School of Photography. Hall worked at the Los Angeles Sentinel in the 1950s and 1960s and co-founded Halmont Graphics with Lamont McLemore in 1958. As an independent photographer, Hall became well-known photographing social events, weddings, and socialites, often in Beverly Hills and Bel Air, as well as Los Angeles' Black community. Hall was also an inventor, notably creating a sports car prototype named the Corwin Getaway in 1969. Hall died on January 5, 2020.

Scope and Contents

This collection primarily consists of undeveloped negatives, snapshots, prints, and correspondence by Los Angeles native photographer Cliff Hall (1925-2020), which appear chiefly to date from the 1950s to early 2000s. The images reflect photo shoots and candid images made by Hall of society and cultural events and often document Los Angeles' Black community. Notable persons include: Arsenio Hall, Stevie Wonder, Muhammad Ali, Sammy Davis jr, and OJ Simpson.

Conditions Governing Access

Advance notice required for access.

Rights Statement for Archival Description

Finding aid description and metadata are licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Department of Special Collections at specol@usc.edu. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Cliff Hall in 2007 and 2008.

Preferred Citation

[Box/folder no. or item name], Cliff Hall negatives and photographs, Collection no. 7010, Regional History Collection, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Processing Information

This collection is unprocessed.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Actors -- Photographs
Actors -- California -- Los Angeles -- Photographs
Actresses -- Photographs
Actresses -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
African American photographers
African American photographers -- Archival resources
African Americans -- California -- Los Angeles -- History -- 20th century -- Archival resources
African Americans -- California -- Los Angeles -- Photographs
Negatives (photographic)
Parties -- California -- Los Angeles -- Photographs
Photographers -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Photographs
Weddings -- California -- Los Angeles -- Photographs
Hall, Cliff, 1925-2020 -- Archives