Photographs of American prison life
Content Description
27 undated black and white photographs depicting predominantly men of color in prison living facilities; the images are chiefly interior shots, a few without men, but also with several exterior shots. A previous owner claimed the images were of the Mississippi State Penitentiary, also known as Parchman Farm.
Dates
- Creation: circa 1965-1975
Condition Description
In very good condition; photographs are attached to thick card-stock mattes which should be removed if it can be done safely.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for research.
Extent
.4 linear feet (2 boxes) : 27 black and white photographsArrangement
Collection is in no discernible order.
Custodial History
Collection previously owned by someone with a possible connection to Mississippi State Penitentiary, also known as Parchman Farm.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
2023M-16. Purchased from Langdon Manor Books LLC with the Stanley Marcus Endowment for Rare Books, 2022 August 8.
- Title
- Photographs of American prison life, circa 1965-1975 (MS Am 3416): Guide
- Status
- completed
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard University
- Date
- 2022 August 31
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- hou03500
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.
Houghton Library’s Reading Room is free and open to all who wish to use the library’s collections.
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