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, 1925-2000
Creator:
Hall, Cliff, 1925-2000
Identifier/Call Number: 7010
Physical Description:
13.8 Linear Feet
13 boxes
Date (inclusive): approximately 1950s-2000s
Abstract: This collection primarily consists of undeveloped negatives by African American Los Angeles photographer Cliff Hall (1925-2020),
which appear to chiefly date from the 1950s to early 2000s. The images reflect photo shoots by Hall of society and cultural
events and often document the Los Angeles African American community.
Language of Material:
English.
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Cliff Hall (1925-2020) was a prominent African-American 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 cofounded 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 in
the 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.
This collection primarily consists of undeveloped, unlabeled rolls of photographic negatives by African American Los Angeles
photographer Cliff Hall (1925-2020), which appear to chiefly date from the 1950s to early 2000s. The images reflect photo
shoots by Hall in the Los Angeles area for society and cultural events and contain images of elected officials, celebrities,
athletes, and community leaders. The images often document the Los Angeles Black community and may include work done while
Hall was a staff photographer at the Los Angeles Sentinel in the 1950s-1960s. There are also some prints and photograph albums
often depicting unidentified African Americans at social and civic events, funerals, and weddings.
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.
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.
[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.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Cliff Hall, 2007.
This collection is unprocessed.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
African American photographers
African American photographers -- Archival resources
African Americans -- California -- Los Angeles -- History -- 20th century -- Archival resources
African Americans -- California -- Los Angeles -- Photographs
Parties -- California -- Los Angeles -- Photographs
Photographers -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Weddings -- California -- Los Angeles -- Photographs
Negatives (photographic)
Photographs
Hall, Cliff, 1925-2000 -- Archives