Bill Penick photographs of a "womanless wedding"
Overview
Photographs of a wedding performed by men and children in drag.
Dates
- Creation: circa 1946
Creator
- Penick, Bill (Person)
Condition Description
In overall good condition, with some curling. Accompanying box discarded.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for research.
Extent
.2 linear feet (1 box)23 silver print black and white photographs stamped on the verso "PHOTO BY BILL PENICK FRANKLIN 3247", sequentially numbered with two gaps. The photographs portray various scenes from a mock wedding populated by men and children in drag. The photographs are undated, but the Kodak container holding them bore an expiration date of 1947. Also with a card advertising a spring program to be held at the Crestwood (Ky.) Baptist Church, on the verso of which is a record of sales of the photographs. (source: dealer's description)
Biographical / Historical
W. C. Penick, known as Bill, was a photographer and farmer of Shively, Kentucky born around 1914. (source: dealer's description)
"Womanless weddings" were a form of drag performance popular in the first half of the 20th century in rural America chiefly performed by men but also occasionally including women dressed in drag. Besides entertainment, often featuring prominent members of the community, these ceremonies were held as fundraisers.
Arrangement
Collection is arranged as received.
Custodial History
Prior to this acquisition, the photographs were sent by the photographer to Mrs. Joe Ladd in Crestwood (Ky.) with an unknown number of intermediate owners.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
2022MT-18. Purchased from Martin Hartzold with the Robert Gould Shaw Fund, 2021 September 9.
Processing Information
Processed minimally by Melanie Wisner, 2021 September.
Creator
- Penick, Bill (Person)
- Title
- Penick, Bill, photographer. BIll Penick photographs of a "womanless wedding", circa 1946 (MS Thr 2144): Guide
- Status
- completed
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard University
- Date
- 2021 September 20
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- hou04034
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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