- unitid
-
{"value"=>"20645", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"Sc MG 329", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"b11605006", "type"=>"local_b"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1914-1987", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1914/1987"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Alberta Hunter papers"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"24 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"8.67 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}]}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division</span>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"Alberta Hunter was a blues singer who toured the world and sang leading roles on Broadway. The Alberta Hunter papers consist of personal and professional papers documenting Hunter's singing and nursing careers."}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"English"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Hunter, Alberta", "type"=>"persname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Blues singer Alberta Hunter debuted in 1912 in Chicago, at age fifteen; she toured throughout the world and sang leading roles in Europe and on Broadway. Born in 1895 in Memphis, Tennessee, Hunter appeared in top Chicago nightclubs, including the Dreamland Cafe, where she shared the spotlight with the King Oliver Band. In 1921, Hunter made her first recording on the Black Swan label with her own song, \"Down Hearted Blues\". She replaced Bessie Smith in the leading role of the musical, <span class=\"title\">How Come?</span>, and shortly thereafter she toured in Europe, where she landed the leading role in the London production of <span class=\"title\">Showboat</span> (1927) with Paul Robeson. This event marked the beginning of a very successful European career which encompassed recordings as well as a role in England's first color film, <span class=\"title\">Radio Parade of 1935</span>. Hunter made her home in England and France and developed a sophisticated cabaret act, which toured throughout Europe and the Middle East.</p> <p>With the advent of World War II, Hunter returned to the United States and volunteered to headline a 1945 United Service Organizations (USO) tour to Europe, Japan, and Korea. After appearances in a 1954 revival of <span class=\"title\">Mamba's Daughters</span> with Ethel Waters, and the unsuccessful production of <span class=\"title\">Mrs. Patterson</span>, starring Eartha Kitt, Hunter retired from the entertainment field.</p> <p>In 1955, at the age of 60, she began working as a volunteer at the Joint Diseases Hospital in Harlem; she then embarked on her second career as a practical nurse at the Goldwater Hospital on Roosevelt Island in New York City, where she worked for twenty years before retiring.</p> <p>Hunter returned to music in 1977, in her eighties, and again recorded extensively, appeared on radio and television programs, sang on film tracts, filled long engagements in New York nightclubs, and travelled to Paris, London, and Brazil. Alberta Hunter died in 1984, six months before her ninetieth birthday.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Alberta Hunter papers consist of personal and professional papers documenting Hunter's singing and nursing careers. Her personal papers consist of reminiscenses, family correspondence (1964-1985), personal correspondence (1924-1985), passports, financial records, and address books. Hunter's singing career is documented by correspondence with Ethel Waters, Eubie Blake, and blues pianist Lovie Austin, with whom Hunter recorded in her early years. The soundtrack album from the film, <span class=\"title\">Remember My Name</span>, featuring Alberta Hunter, is represented by correspondence and songs. There are contracts for performances, recordings, publication of her songs, television, and radio; royalties; and copyright registration. Her popularity is documented by fan mail (1937-1984). The collection also contains a large body of holograph lyrics by Hunter in addition to some manuscript music by Hunter and other composers, such as Eubie Blake. There are programs and broadsides (1931-1985), printed material, lists of Hunter's unpublished and published songs, notes on issues and sales of her recordings, and schedules of performances. Abundant news clippings discuss her singing career (1924-1986). One of two scrapbooks provides information on her activities of the early 1920s as well as her European career in general; USO Camp Show tours; her 1930s NBC radio series; and her appearances with Ethel Waters in the 1954 revival of <span class=\"title\">Mamba's Daughters</span>. Another scrapbook is devoted to the 1923 musical revue <span class=\"title\">How Come?</span> in which Hunter appeared at both the Apollo and Lafayette Theaters. Her twenty-year career as a licensed practical nurse is represented by her school examination papers and several notebooks. There is also a folder of research material used by Frank Taylor for his 1987 book, <span class=\"title\">Alberta Hunter: A Celebration in Blues</span>.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Alberta Hunter papers are arranged in three series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/scm/20645#c1660614'>Personal</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1914-1985</div>\n</li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/scm/20645#c1660658'>Professional-singing career</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1923-1986</div>\n</li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/scm/20645#c1660867'>Professional-nursing career</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1955-1983</div>\n</li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- arrangement
-
{"value"=>"<p>Organized into three series: I. Personal; II. Professional-singing career; and III. Professional-nursing career.</p>", "supress_display"=>true}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Gift of Gerald Cook, 1988.</p>"}
- separatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p> Transferred to the Art and Artifacts Division: artwork.</p> <p>Transferred to the Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division: audio materials. For more information, please contact the division at schomburgaudiovisual@nypl.org or 212-491-2270.</p> <p>Transferred to the Photographs and Prints Division: photographs.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Accessioned by Mary Yearwood, June 1988.</p>"}
- accessrestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>Lyrics may not be handcopied or photocopied. Music may be handcopied or photocopied only through written permission of the publisher and/or executor of the Hunter estate.</p>"}
- sponsor
-
{"value"=>"Schomburg NEH Automated Access to Special Collections Project"}
- revisiondesc
-
{"value"=>"Finding aid updated by Lauren Stark.", "date"=>"2021 October 29"}
- date_start
-
1914
- keydate
-
1914
- date_end
-
1987
- date_inclusive_start
-
1914
- date_inclusive_end
-
1987
- extent_statement
-
8.67 linear feet (24 boxes)
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"[Item], Alberta Hunter papers, Sc MG 329, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library"}