- unitid
-
{"value"=>"533476", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"Sc Photo Portfolio (Van Der Zee, J.)", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"b21254852", "type"=>"local_b"}
- unitdate
-
{"calendar"=>"gregorian", "era"=>"ce", "type"=>"inclusive", "value"=>"1900s-1930s (printed 1900s-1980s)"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"James Van Der Zee photograph collection"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"3 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"0.5 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}]}
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"109 photographs", "unit"=>"photographs"}]}
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"26 prints", "unit"=>"prints"}, {"name"=>"physfacet", "value"=>"copy prints"}]}
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"3 photographs", "unit"=>"photographs"}, {"name"=>"physfacet", "value"=>"negatives"}]}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division</span>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"This collection of James Van Der Zee's photographs, compiled by the Schomburg Center, represents various aspects of Van Der Zee's body of work and includes vintage prints (1910s-1930s) as well as later prints produced in the 1980s and one file of negatives. Van Der Zee was a photographer best known for his studio portraits of residents of Harlem."}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"English"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Van Der Zee, James, 1886-1983", "type"=>"persname", "role"=>"pht"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>James Van Der Zee (1886-1983) was a Harlem photographer best known for his studio portraits of Harlem residents and his work for Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association during the 1910s to early 1940s. His studio work was noted for his subjects posing against stylized backdrops, and for his use of multiple printing and negative retouching techniques. After a period of declining business, Van Der Zee's photographs were featured in the \"Harlem on my Mind\" exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in 1969, which renewed public interest in his work.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The vintage prints were created contemporaneously with their original photographic exposures, from the 1910s to the 1930s. This grouping includes studio portraiture, mostly of subjects who were likely Harlem residents, as well as depictions of the activities of Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association (1924); Harlem street scenes and public events (1920s-1950s); and exterior and interior views of Harlem businesses, public space, and living space (1920s-1930s). Of note are interior views of Van Der Zee's Seventh Avenue photography studio (ca. 1930s); panoramic street views of Central Harlem following a snow storm (1920s); and an undated view of an outdoor banquet given by religious leader Father Divine. The studio portraiture consists mainly of individual or group portraits of African American men, women, and children, often posing in formal or costume attire against stylized studio backdrops; subjects also include families, entertainers, and newlyweds. Many prints in this grouping bear stamps identifying Van Der Zee's studios, including his business names G.G.G. Photo Studio and Guarantee Photo Studio, and providing the various Harlem addresses he occupied.</p> <p>The later editioned prints were made in the 1980s as part of numbered editions, under the supervision of Van Der Zee and with the participation of his wife, Donna Mussenden Van Der Zee. The original photographic exposures for these works were made between 1908 and circa 1933. The prints, created during the period of increased attention given to Van Der Zee's work near the end of his life, include some of his best-known images, notably a portrait of a couple wearing racooon coats, and a portrait of the Harlem street preacher Elder Clayhorn Martin.</p> <p>The copy prints and miscellaenous later prints consist of prints made later than the date of the original photographs, but not as part of numbered editions and not exclusively under Van Der Zee's supervision. In some cases the prints were made as copies of other photographs and not from original negatives. Several prints bear a \"James Van Der Zee Institute\" stamp on their verso, indicating that they were produced after 1969. For the majority of these prints, a corresponding vintage print is not held at the Schomburg Center. Subjects include Marcus Garvey, the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), Adam Clayton Powell, Sr., and Marcelino Manuel da Graça (also known as Daddy Grace), founder of the United House of Prayer for All People.</p> <p>Most of the item titles in this finding aid are supplied titles created by the processing archivist. Titles enclosed in quotation marks were transcribed directly from an inscription on the negative that is visible on the print.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The James Van Der Zee photograph collection is arranged in three series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/scp/533476#c1763122'>Vintage Prints</a></div>\n</li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/scp/533476#c1763226'>Later Editioned Prints</a></div>\n</li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/scp/533476#c1763234'>Copy Prints and Miscellaneous Later Prints</a></div>\n</li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- arrangement
-
{"value"=>"<p>The collection is arranged in four groupings: Vintage Prints, Later Editioned Prints, Copy Prints/Miscellaenous Later Prints, and Negatives.</p>", "supress_display"=>true}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Items in the collection were acquired from various donors, including Claire Taylor, Constance Clayton, and other anonymous donors. The provenance of some items is unknown.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>The collection was processed by <span class=\"name\">Jack Patterson</span> in <span class=\"date\">2024</span>. <span class=\"name\">Michael Mery</span> previously created a catalog record for the collection.</p>"}
- accessrestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>The negatives are not available to researchers due to conservation considerations.</p>"}
- relatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Schomburg Center's Photographs and Prints Division also holds <span class=\"title\">James Van Der Zee: Eighteen Photographs</span>, a portfolio issued in 1974 by Graphics International Ltd.</p>"}
- extent_statement
-
0.5 linear feet (3 boxes). 109 photographs. 26 prints : copy prints. 3 photographs : negatives
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"James Van Der Zee photograph collection, Photographs and Prints Division. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library"}