Photograph albums compiled by a musician touring with Harold Ward
Overview
306 black and white photographs in two disbound albums of African American performers compiled by a musician on tour.
Dates
- Creation: circa 1928-1959
Creator
- Ward, Harold (Person)
Condition Description
Albums are disbound and have loose material; the volumes are held together by ties. The photographs are held in place by corner holders.
Conditions Governing Access
Restricted: fragile; consult curatorial staff.
Extent
.25 linear feet (2 volumes in 1 box)The compiler's name is unknown, though it may have been Harold Ward. Collection is comprised of 306 black and white photographs in two disbound albums of African American performers compiled by a musician on tour with musician Harold “Dirty” Ward. 116 photographs show performers; only one shows a performance. Some of the images were taken by Harold Ward. The tour with the Louis Douglas revue, “Louisiana”, is covered in one album concerning travel in Europe and North Africa in 1928-1930; this album shows African American performers off stage, and it includes what may be the only extant image of “Louisiana”. The other album shows the Ward family presumably in Chicago in the 1930s-1950s. All the earliest photographs are captioned.
Biographical / Historical
Harold “Dirty” Ward played trombone and saxophone for shows put on by Louis Douglas and toured with Douglas's review "Louisiana”. The nickname "Dirty" was given because he had freckles.
Born in Philadelphia, Louis Douglas (1889-1939) began performing in Europe as early as 1903. He was a dancer and became better known when he served as assistant director, choreographer and lead male dancer in 1925 for “La Revue Nègre” in which his dance partner was Josephine Baker. Douglas put together “Louisiana” In 1929, in which the performers may have been known as “The Black Flowers.” (source: dealer's description)
Arrangement
Collection arranged in order as received.
Physical Location
Harvard Depository
Custodial History
The albums were found at an estate sale in Chicago.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
2021MT-5. Purchased from Langdon Manor Books LLC with the Ruth Neils and John M. Ward Fund, 2020 September 24.
Processing Information
Accessioned by Melanie Wisner, 2020 December.
Genre / Form
Creator
- Ward, Harold (Person)
- Title
- Photograph albums compiled by a musician on tour with Harold Ward, circa 1928-1959 (MS Thr 2077): Guide
- Status
- completed
- Date
- 2020 December 2
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- hou03355
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
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