Research Catalog

Title

James Baldwin photograph collection.

Author

Baldwin, James, 1924-1987

Publication

[between 1948 and 2002?]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Bauer, Jerry
• Krementz, Jill
• Pakay, Sedat
• Pelatowski, Theodore
• Petrus, Max
• Schapiro, Steve
• Shaw, Stephen M.
• Weissmann, Mottke

Found In

p1pc Baldwin, James, 1924-1987 James Baldwin papers, 1936-1992 (OCoLC)982197164

Description

• 719 items (2.5 cubic ft., six boxes); 36 x 28 cm and smaller.
• 283 photographic prints : gelatin silver, black and white ;
• 183 photographic prints : color ;
• 74 contact sheets : gelatin silver, black and white ;
• 13 photographic prints : inkjet, black and white ;
• 154 film negatives : gelatin silver, black and white ;
• 11 miscellaneous : photomechanical prints, photographic postcard, and dye diffusion prints, black and white ;
• 1 photo album (20 pages) ;

Summary

• The collection (late 1940s to 1980s) depicts aspects of the personal life, literary career and some civil rights activities of writer and activist James Baldwin. Depictions of Baldwin's personal life before the 1960s, his family, and his civil rights activities are very limited.
• The Personal series consists of portraits and views of Baldwin at home; engaged in social activities with relatives, friends and colleagues; traveling; and individual and group portraits of friends and some family members. Some of the portraits of Baldwin could have been taken for publicity or photojournalistic purposes. Included in this series are views of Baldwin at his residence in St. Paul de Vence, France (ca. 1970-1987); documentation of Baldwin in Turkey (ca. 1965); and views of Baldwin visiting his friend, painter Beauford Delaney, at St. Anne's Hospital for the Insane, Montparnasse, Paris, France (1976). Among the other individuals depicted with Baldwin are Maya Angelou, Harry Belafonte, Barnard Hassell, and David Baldwin, James's brother.
• The Professional series consists of portraits of Baldwin used to promote his various publications; candid shots and views of Baldwin engaged in activities and events related to his literary endeavors, including book signings, lectures, meetings and interviews (late 1940s-1980s); and views of theatrical productions of his plays. The series includes a photo album depicting Baldwin's participation at a meeting on Lake Issuk-Kul, in Ala-Archa National Park, in Soviet-era Kyrgyzstan with other intellectuals from around the world (1986); and scenes and other images - mainly in the form of contact sheets - relating to different productions of his plays "The Amen Corner" and "Blues for Mister Charlie" (ca. 1960s), including a production starring Claudia McNeil, and a production directed by Frank Silvera and starring Beah Richards.
• Of note are a series of negatives depicting Pentecostal church services, some identified as Fireside Pentecostal Assembly, in Harlem taken by photographer Theodore Pelatowski, Baldwin's collaborator on an unpublished book entitled "Unto the Dying Lamb" (ca. 1948), for which Baldwin was awarded a Rosenwald Fellowship.
• The Civil Rights series (1960s-1980s) consists of views of Baldwin, documented in the form of contact sheets, conducting interviews, at an unidentified rally, and engaged in other civil rights activities, primarily in Louisiana and North Carolina (1960s). Included are publicity photographs for the 1982 documentary "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," in which Baldwin retraces his time in the South during the Civil Rights Movement.
• Related collections are the James Baldwin Portrait Collection and the Unto the Dying Lamb Collection.

Subjects

• Autographing
• African American authors
• African Americans > Social life and customs
• African American gay men
• Film negatives > 1940-1989
• Meetings
• Group portraits > 1940-2009
• Issyk-Kul Forum (1986 : Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyz Republic)
• African Americans > France
• Portrait photographs > 1950-2009
• Publicity photographs > 1950-1989
• Lectures
• Snapshots > 1950-2009
• Dye coupler prints > 1960-2009
• African American political activists
• Gelatin silver prints > 1950-1989
• Baldwin, James, 1924-1987
• African Americans > Turkey
• African American dramatists
• Travel > 1960-1989
• Theatrical productions > 1960-1969

Genre/Form

• Portrait photographs – 1950-2009.
• Group portraits – 1940-2009.
• Publicity photographs – 1950-1989.
• Snapshots – 1950-2009.
• Gelatin silver prints – 1950-1989.
• Dye coupler prints – 1960-2009.
• Film negatives – 1940-1989.

Note

• Title taken from James Baldwin Papers.
• Many photographs bear photographer's, photography studio's or photo agency's hand stamp on verso; some items bear photographer's signature on verso or recto.
• Many items bear handwritten captions on verso; some items bear typewritten caption labels on verso; some items bear printed captions on either verso or recto. Some items bear inscriptions.
• Some items have been cropped or bear cropping marks. Some items are mounted; one item is matted. Some items have been folded. Some items are duplicates.
• Collection contains work by Jerry Bauer, Jill Krementz, Sedat Pakay, Max Petrus, Steve Schapiro, and Sam Shaw, among others.

Terms of Use (note)

• Collection is restricted; photocopying and personal photography are not permitted.
• Some items are under copyright; permission of the copyright holder is required for duplication.
• Negatives are closed to research.

Biography (note)

• James Baldwin, 1924-1987, was a Harlem, New York, born African American writer and civil rights activist. Baldwin's writing, consisting of six novels, seven non-fiction works, two plays, a book of poetry, a children's book, and several essays and reviews, explored the complexities of race, sexual and class issues in the United States. Baldwin died in St. Paul de Vence, France, in 1987, and is buried at Ferncliff Cemetery, Hartsdale, New York.

Linking Entry (note)

• Forms part of the James Baldwin Papers, 1936-1992.

Call Number

Sc Photo James Baldwin Collection

OCLC

984698840

Author

Baldwin, James, 1924-1987, collector.

Title

James Baldwin photograph collection.

Production

[between 1948 and 2002?]

Type of Content

still image

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

sheet

Terms Of Use

Collection is restricted; photocopying and personal photography are not permitted.

Some items are under copyright; permission of the copyright holder is required for duplication.

Negatives are closed to research.

Biography

James Baldwin, 1924-1987, was a Harlem, New York, born African American writer and civil rights activist. Baldwin's writing, consisting of six novels, seven non-fiction works, two plays, a book of poetry, a children's book, and several essays and reviews, explored the complexities of race, sexual and class issues in the United States. Baldwin died in St. Paul de Vence, France, in 1987, and is buried at Ferncliff Cemetery, Hartsdale, New York.

Linking Entry

Forms part of the James Baldwin Papers, 1936-1992.

Local Note

Sc MG 936

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Added Author

Bauer, Jerry, photographer.

Krementz, Jill, photographer.

Pakay, Sedat, photographer.

Pelatowski, Theodore, photographer.

Petrus, Max, photographer.

Schapiro, Steve, photographer.

Shaw, Stephen M., photographer.

Weissmann, Mottke, photographer.

Found In:

p1pc Baldwin, James, 1924-1987 James Baldwin papers, 1936-1992 (OCoLC)982197164

Research Call Number

Sc Photo James Baldwin Collection