Research Catalog

Title

Austin Hansen collection [graphic] / A. Hansen.

Author

Hansen, Austin, 1910-1996

Publication

[193-]-1989.

Supplementary Content

Finding aid

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Hansen, Aubrey.
• A. Hansen Studio (New York, N.Y.)

Description

• ca. 530,484 items (124.2 lin. ft., 262 boxes); 26 x 21 cm. and smaller.
• ca. 21,679 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w, some hand-colored ;
• ca. 3038 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w ;
• ca. 460 photographic prints : col. ;
• ca. 4514 photographic prints : col. ;
• ca. 529 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w, some hand-colored ;
• ca. 225 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w, some hand-colored ;
• ca. 39 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w ;
• ca. 500,000 negatives : b&w, some col. ;

Summary

The Austin Hansen Collection primarily documents the people, places, and events in Harlem during the period from approximately the 1930s to the late 1980s.

Donor/Sponsor

Schomburg NEH Humanities Resources Access Project.

Subjects

• Bryant, Willie, 1908-1964
• African American churches > New York (State) > New York
• Robinson, Jackie, 1919-1972
• African American photographers
• Scottish Rite (Masonic order)
• Parades & processions > New York (State) > New York > 1940-1989
• African American politicians
• Cityscape photographs > 1930-1989
• Louis, Joe, 1914-1981
• African Methodist Episcopal Church New York (State) > New York
• World War, 1939-1945 > African Americans
• Bethune, Mary McLeod, 1875-1955
• Hand coloring
• Jack, Hulan E
• Freemasons > Prince Hall Grand Lodge (N.Y.)
• Daughters of Improved, Benevolent, Protective Order of Elks of the World
• African Americans > New York (State) > New York > Political activity
• African American clergy
• Cathedral of St. John the Divine (New York, N.Y.)
• Photographic prints > 1930-1989
• African American musicians
• Rites and ceremonies > Awards
• Tobias, Channing H
• Panoramic photographs > 1940-1989
• Etiquette > Awards
• Gelatin silver prints > 1930-1989
• Churches > New York (N.Y.)
• Powell, Adam Clayton, Jr., 1908-1972
• African Americans > New York (State) > New York > Societies, etc
• African Americans > Clothing & dress > 1930-1989
• Group portraits > 1930-1989
• Dye coupler prints > 1940-1989
• Politics and government > New York (N.Y.) > 1930-1989
• King, Coretta Scott, 1927-2006
• African Americans > Social life and customs
• Randolph, A. Philip (Asa Philip), 1889-1979
• Beauty culture > New York (State) > New York
• National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs > New York Club
• Lee, Canada
• Manners and customs > Awards
• Order of the Eastern Star
• African Americans in the performing arts
• Buildings > New York (State) > New York
• Portrait photographs > 1930-1989
• United States > Navy > African Americans
• African Americans > New York (State) > New York > Religion
• Poor People's Campaign
• Fashion models > New York (N.Y.)
• New York (N.Y.) > Police Department
• Legal photographs > 1930-1989
• Powell, A. Clayton (Adam Clayton), 1865-1953
• Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962
• Young Men's Christian Association (New York, N.Y.) > Harlem Branch
• Fashion > New York (State) > New York
• St. Philip's Church (Harlem, New York, N.Y.)
• Fraternal organizations > New York (N.Y.)
• African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church New York (State) > New York
• Harlem (New York, N.Y.)
• St. Martin's Church (New York, N.Y.)
• Ancient Egyptian Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Inc. (Prince Hall Affiliated)
• African-American Day Parade
• Photojournalism > New York (N.Y.) > 1930-1989
• Fashion photographs > 1930-1989
• Abyssinian Baptist Church (New York, N.Y.)
• Funeral rites & ceremonies > New York (N.Y.)
• African American business enterprises > New York (State) > New York
• Cotillions
• Weddings > New York (State) > New York > 1940-1989
• Clubs > New York (State) > New York
• African Americans > Religious life

Genre/Form

• Portrait photographs – 1930-1989.
• Group portraits – 1930-1989.
• Cityscape photographs – 1930-1989.
• Legal photographs – 1930-1989.
• Fashion photographs – 1930-1989.
• Photographic prints – 1930-1989.
• Gelatin silver prints – 1930-1989.
• Dye coupler prints – 1940-1989.
• Panoramic photographs – 1940-1989.
• Hand coloring.

Note

• Title devised by cataloger.
• Many items have photographer's handstamp on verso; some items have studio blindstamp on recto.
• Some photographs have captions on verso or recto.
• Some photographs are airbrushed; some are cropped; some have cropping marks.

Terms of Use (note)

• Collection is under copyright; permission of the copyright holder is required for duplication.
• Photo negatives are closed to research.

Biography (note)

• Austin Hansen, known primarily as a Harlem studio photographer, has had a career in photography that spans nearly seventy years, from the mid-1920s to the present.

Indexes/Finding Aids (note)

• Finding aid

Publications (note)

• Hansen's Harlem. New York : New York Public Library, 1989.

Exhibitions (note)

• Exhibited: "Hansen's Harlem," an exhibition at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 1989.

Call Number

Sc Photo Austin Hansen Collection

OCLC

NYPG95-F8

Author

Hansen, Austin, 1910-1996, photographer.

Title

Austin Hansen collection [graphic] / A. Hansen.

Imprint

[193-]-1989.

Terms Of Use

Collection is under copyright; permission of the copyright holder is required for duplication.

Photo negatives are closed to research.

Biography

Austin Hansen, known primarily as a Harlem studio photographer, has had a career in photography that spans nearly seventy years, from the mid-1920s to the present. Hansen was born in St. Thomas, in the Virgin Islands, on January 28, 1910, where he began his photographic career as a student of Clair Taylor, the Islands' official photographer. Among the first images that he produced were depictions of the hurricane damage done to St. Thomas in 1926 which he sold to the Virgin Islands' government for $4.00. When Charles Lindburgh stopped in the Virgin Islands after his 1927 transatlantic solo flight, Hansen recorded his visit and later sold these pictures to the New York Amsterdam News for $2.00.

Moving to Harlem in 1928, Hansen worked at various jobs including messenger, elevator operator, and professional drummer in local Harlem nightclubs. He also continued to pursue a career in professional photography by bringing his camera to gigs and photographing club patrons for a fee. In 1929, he sold an image to the New York Amsterdam News of an African American woman singer performing for Eleanor Roosevelt at the Essex Hotel, for which Hansen was paid $2.00. This would begin his long association with the local African American press as a freelance photojournalist.

In the 1930s, Hansen joined the musicians' union, Local 802, which enabled him to play and travel with larger bands. He also studied art and started to expand his photographic output with the assistance of his younger brother, Aubrey, who had arrived in New York in 1939. It was at this time that he began to photograph the Harlem nightclub scene; it also marked the beginning of his photographic record of both the day-to-day occurences in the local community, as well as the activities of notable Harlem residents and distinguished visitors. During this time he also opened his first studio on West 116th Street in Harlem. In 1942, Hansen began to do freelance work for the People's Voice, the newspaper founded and edited by Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., both as a contributing photographer, and as "The Mystery Photographer" for the Voice's promotional campaign.

Hansen was drafted into the Navy during World War II, and served from July 17, 1943 to January 26, 1945. He was trained as a war photographer and given the rank of Photographer's Mate, 2nd class, later serving on Manus Island in the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific. In 1945, after his discharge from the Navy, he was employed for over a year as a darkroom technician and photographer for the Office of War Information in New York City. After the war, Hansen opened a photo studio on Eagle Ave. in the Bronx. He later owned and operated a studio at 232 W. 135th Street, Harlem, where, for over forty years, he produced an archive of thousands of images depicting Harlem's architecture, religious institutions, businesses, professional schools, social and fraternal organizations, events, and weddings, along with a sizable studio portrait collection of families, clergy, political leaders, entertainers, athletes, police, and writers. As a freelance photographer, Hansen was on assignment for or sold images to such publications as the New York Amsterdam News, the People's Voice, the New York Age, the Pittsburgh Courier (New York edition), African Opinion, and the Afro-American. Austin Hansen died in New York City on January 23, 1996, a few days short of his 86th birthday.

Indexes

Finding aid: folder level control.

Publications

Hansen's Harlem. New York : New York Public Library, 1989.

Exhibitions

Exhibited: "Hansen's Harlem," an exhibition at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 1989.

Connect to:

NYPL Digital Collections

Finding aid

Local Subject

African-American Day Parade.

Added Author

Hansen, Aubrey.

A. Hansen Studio (New York, N.Y.)

Research Call Number

Sc Photo Austin Hansen Collection