John Taylor Company Photographers photographs of William Ferry's (Frogman Ferry) contortionist performances
Overview
Three photographs depicting the contortion performances of William (Frogman) Ferry.
Dates
- Creation: 1930
Condition Description
In good condition. Handling requires gloves.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
This collection is shelved offsite. Retrieval requires advance notice. Readers should check with Houghton Public Services staff to determine retrieval policies and times.
Extent
.04 linear feet (1 folder)Three photographs depicting the contortion acts of William Ferry, who performed under the stage name Frogman Ferry. Ferry's act consisted of contortion poses and movements meant to imitate those of a frog, all performed while wearing a papier mache frog mask. One photograph has handwritten notes on the back. All photographs stamped with John Taylor Company Photographers logo on the back.
Biographical / Historical
William Ferry, who performed under the stage name Frogman Ferry, was an African American vaudeville and minstrel performer who specialized in imitating a frog through contortionism. He was born circa 1868, and performed from the 1890s through the mid-1940s. Ferry toured around the turn of the century with McAdoo’s Minstrels and Cakewalkers. For a time he traveled with his own troupe, which also showed early silent movies. In addition to Big Time American and Australian vaudeville circuits, he also performed in circuses (such as Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey), pantomimes, and burlesque. In 1935 he performed an interpretation of “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calveras County” in a special tribute performance for Mark Twain’s 100th birthday at the Waldorf-Astoria.
Source: No Applause--Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous
Arrangement
Arranged as received.
Physical Location
Harvard Depository
Custodial History
Ownership prior to this acquisition is unknown.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
2023MT-63. Purchased from Potter and Potter Auctions using the Rose and Marian Hannah Winter Fund, 2023 February 27.
Processing Information
This collection was processed to a basic level with minimal rehousing, organization, and preservation. (Aurora Charlow, 2023)
- Title
- William Ferry (Frogman Ferry) photographs of contortionist performances, 1930, (MS Thr 2267): Guide
- Status
- completed
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard University
- Date
- 2023 April 26
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- hou03556
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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