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Lot 440
[AFRICAN AMERICANA]. Photo album recording the early life of Juanita Thompson, an African American woman who grew up in Jamaica, NY, incl. images of her integrated neighborhood and summer camp. Ca 1920s-1950s.
Sale 2057 - American Historical Ephemera and Photography
Oct 25, 2024 10:00AM ET
Live / Cincinnati
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Estimate
$600 - 800
Lot Description
[AFRICAN AMERICANA]. Photo album recording the early life of Juanita Thompson, an African American woman who grew up in Jamaica, NY, incl. images of her integrated neighborhood and summer camp. Ca 1920s-1950s.
9 x 12 in. scrapbook identified to Juanita Thompson of Jamaica, New York, containing over 250 photographs, most approx. 3 x 4 in. black-and-white snapshots, as well as postcards, advertisements, and more. The photographs and related ephemera are mounted recto/verso with photograph corners adhered to album pages. Images include portraits of Thompson as a child, some of which feature white childhood friends and classmates, vacation and camp views, street scenes, casual backyard snapshots including those of uniformed family members and friends who joined the armed services, and professional portraiture. Some ink identified on verso. Included are print photographic advertisements for Madame E. Hector, "The Great Healer of New York City" and The Peerless Four Quartet, "Jubilee Singers of Norfolk, Va." Postcards addressed to Juanita contain messages from friends, and a newspaper clipping lists service pin recipients including Estelle Thompson (Juanita's mother) who received a 10-year pin for her work at the John T. Mather Memorial Hospital.

Also included are over 150 loose photographs, most approx. 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 in. black-and-white snapshots, featuring some of the same subjects as in the album, mostly casually posed family portraiture.

The photograph collection featured in this lot provides a glimpse into the life of an African American family living in an integrated neighborhood in New York, attending an integrated school, and visiting Camp Atwater in Massachusetts, the oldest Black-owned and operated summer campsite in the United States.
This lot is located in Cincinnati.
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