[African Americana]: [Massachusetts]:

[Collection of Photographs Documenting an African-American Community in Western Massachusetts].

[Various locations, mostly in Massachusetts: 1898-1962]. Small vernacular photograph album, with [9] leaves, illustrated with thirty-eight photographs, from thumbnails to 5.75 x 3.5 inches, plus fifty-five loose photographs, mostly in studio mounts, ranging from 3.5 x 2.5 inches to 7.5 x 9.75 inches. Occasional wear and chipping to mounts, photographs generally in good shape with occasional creases, surface wear, or light soiling. Very good. Item #4405

A substantial photographic record of members of the African-American community in western Massachusetts, specifically Springfield and Pittsfield, which may also constitute an extended family. The images are a combination of portraits and group shots of African-American men, women, children, and family groups, which are sometimes identified on the verso of the mounts by a later compiler, probably a family genealogist or certainly someone who knew the subjects personally. Named subjects in the photographs come from the Adams, Persip, Daniels, Grant, Hamilton, and Tucker families of western Massachusetts. Through cross-referencing the names, this portion of the collection is comprised of the photo album and at least twenty-three of the mounted images, with most of the latter on photographer's mounts from studios in Springfield or Pittsfield (and one from Dalton, Massachusetts). These names include Edward Rowland Persip, Alfred Kenneth Persip, Dewey Persip, John Persip, Harry Persip (also identified in the caption as "Grandma Minnie's husband), Harry Daniels, Jessie Daniels, Mary Daniels, Edward L. Grant, Laura K. Grant, Eddie Grant, Minnie Grant, Louise Grant, Estella Grant, Eva L. Grant, Eva Grant Hamilton (same woman, likely after marriage), Arthur Hamilton, and Isabel Tucker. Three of the larger photographs were produced by studios in Springfield and show a family portrait, a wedding party, and a church choir. A few of the images indicate the collection centered around a woman named Lillian, though no last name is given. A couple of images are inscribed to her, a label in the album uses the name Lillian, and at least one photograph pictures a woman named Lillian.

The collection also includes thirty-two images of African-American men, women, and children from Philadelphia; Morristown, New Jersey; Springfield, Ohio; and others with no indication of place on the mounts or in the captions. These include the earliest image present here, a tintype of three African Americans (two women and one man) in an unspecified studio, as well as some images of identified subjects such as Daisy, Lottie, and Minnie Adams. The date range we suggest above is based on the earliest and latest dated photographs in the collection, but clearly there are images dating from before the earliest dated image and some slightly later images. One of the larger images pictures a crowded banquet scene at the Knights of Pythias Hill City Lodge No. 17 on June 8, 1928, though we are unsure where this lodge was located. It is logical to assume that some of these images relate to those from western Massachusetts, either extended family or friends of those living in Springfield or Pittsfield.

An engrossing collection of almost a hundred photographs of African Americans in western Massachusetts and beyond, many from the late-19th century and early-20th century, and many identified by name.

Price: $1,750