DC Public Library, Special Collections

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Processing FindsWhile in our interim spaces during the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library modernization, Special Collections archival staff are busy processing new collections, which will soon be ready for research. In the past year, we have...

Processing Finds

While in our interim spaces during the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library modernization, Special Collections archival staff are busy processing new collections, which will soon be ready for research. In the past year, we have made available over 380 boxes of material. The work continues with thirteen different collections currently being processed. During our work, we often find items that pique our interest or that we think are really cool.

Recently, we discovered an interesting series of photographs of the redevelopment of Washington, DC’s Southwest Waterfront in the 1970s. The images were taken by the contractor, Corson & Gruman, as a part of their contract with the Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA).

These images document the development process of the area, which Neville Miller, RLA chairman, said would be an “attractive asset for the city.” While that statement is debatable, these, and other images in the Redevelopment Land Agency Photograph Collection (Collection #166) document the process of progress in the city and give us a glimpse into a time when the area looked very different.

The image above was taken on May 4, 1972 and shows the completed Park #3. The park was located along the Washington Channel between 7th and 9th Streets SW. 40+ years later, this area has once again been developed – just goes to show how fast this city continues to change.

– Mark Greek, Archival Collections Coordinator

washington dc washington dc history dc history southwest dc southwest waterfront dc public library dcpl archives

Uncovering the Past in Forest Hills, D.C.

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Last week I only had to walk one block north of Washingtoniana when I spotted it. Hiding behind a Rube Goldberg-like contraption of utility pipes and meters was a section of wrought iron railing painted battleship gray. Radiating out from a centered, vertically-oriented opening were lightning bolts that culminated in sunbursts.

“This is old and there has to be a story behind it,” I surmised.

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Arriving back at Washingtoniana, the first thing I did was to check the DC Government Office of Planning’s HistoryQuest DC map. Typing in the address of the building resulted in discovering that it was constructed in 1948 and that the original owner was the Chevy Chase Radio & Electric Company. I realized immediately that this railing had to be part of the original business that opened at this address 70 years ago.

Next I conducted a search of the Evening Star newspaper database (available at any DC Public Library or remotely with a DCPL library card). Searching “4420 Connecticut” with the searched narrowed to just 1948 resulted in hits for two businesses at this address but neither of them were the Chevy Chase Radio & Electric Company.

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Having recalled seeing another entrance at the south end of the building opposite the 4420 address imprinted on a canopy over an entrance at the north end, I searched for “4418 Connecticut.” Quickly I found four advertisements that the Chevy Chase Radio Company ran between April and August of 1948. Next up was to search Washingtoniana’s Evening Star Photo Morgue and the Historical Image Collection to see if there were any photos of the building as it originally looked in 1948.

Nothing.

Next I consulted Forest Hills, an Images of America book published in 2006 by the Forest Hills Neighborhood Alliance. No luck there either.

Lastly, I ran a Google Images search for “Chevy Chase Radio Company” and, in addition to lots of photos of the actor Chevy Chase, found one black and white photo of a building titled Potomac Electric Power Co. But plainly visible on the building was signage that read “Dowd’s Chevy Chase Radio & Electric Company.” The poor quality photo was credited to Theodor Horydczak, whose photo archive (I knew) was housed in the Library of Congress.

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Within seconds I was on the Library of Congress website, which had (unfortunately) the same poor quality exterior photo but included an interior image of the business as well. Both photos were taken by the photographer on April 15, 1948, the first month that Chevy Chase Radio began advertising in the “Star.”

It’s too bad that this nice example of wrought iron craftsmanship is not more visible to passersby on the sidewalk, but if it had been it probably would not have survived the past seven decades.

–Jerry McCoy, Special Collections Librarian

forest hills dchistory special collections DC public library
Poor People’s Campaign Photos Now Available on Dig DC
We are pleased to announce that over 600 Washington Star images documenting the Poor People’s Campaign of 1968 and Resurrection City are now available on Dig DC.
“ The Poor People’s Campaign was a...

Poor People’s Campaign Photos Now Available on Dig DC


We are pleased to announce that over 600 Washington Star images documenting the Poor People’s Campaign of 1968 and Resurrection City are now available on Dig DC

The Poor People’s Campaign was a civil rights movement initiated by Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in early 1968. The campaign lobbied for economic justice and vital social programs via an Economic Bill of Rights, brought to DC through an organized protest encampment on the National Mall of thousands of people facing poverty from all over the United States. Although Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, on April 29 the Poor People’s Campaign continued ahead, with caravans arriving in DC on May 12, 1968. Known as Resurrection City, the live-in protest included its own “People’s University”, The Many Races Soul Center (or “Soul Tent”), a city hall, a circulated newspaper and infrastructure like plumbing, a zip code for mail delivery, and communications wires for telephone booths. Residents of Resurrection City had access to three meals a day, healthcare, clothing, religious services and even haircuts. After a successful rally of performances and speeches on June 19th known as “Solidarity Day”, the campaign effectively ended on June 24, 1968 when the camp was cleared by police following the expiration of the National Park Service permit.

You can research DC Public Library Resources on the Poor People’s Campaign and Resurrection City in the People’s University Online Resource Guide. View the Washington Star images here

(Image by Bob Schumaker: People Arriving to Resurrection City, May 1968

dc1968 Poor People's Campaign Resurrection City DC public library archives digital archives Washington Star washington dc dc history protests demonstrations

Finding Gems in the Edward Fletcher Photograph Collection

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Special Collections Volunteer Irene Kellogg recently came across this 1947 photo of the Bradford Barbell Club in the newly acquired Edward Fletcher Photograph Collection. Irene, a photographer herself and a longtime friend of the Fletcher family, shares her thoughts on working with this collection in a piece titled, “Finding Gems in the Edward Fletcher Collection: A Volunteer’s Viewpoint:”

Gathering the donated collections of a body of work and organizing a myriad of media topics for library users is no small task, but an outsider might believe it to be so.  My first initial introduction to the process entailed working on one phase of a photographic collection. The boxes appeared to contain carefully prearranged prints with or without their medium format negatives, which had to be verified. I entered a small amount of information on each item, such as location, subject, and possible dates, if not provided. Finally, I added brief descriptive data about the images into a spreadsheet. This preliminary identification work and data entry was not difficult. It was part of the learning foundation for me. The more mundane and pioneering work was yet to come in the learning process. It would center on the tasks relating to the actual accessioning process. I understood this to mean finding out how much ‘stuff’ has to be stored – in linear feet. Believe it or not, I was really looking forward to tackling those 27 boxes of photographic material that had been shipped from Tacoma, WA to Washington, DC on February 17, 2018.

Ergo, my personal discovery of what may appear as a straightforward project has opened the door to a variety of learning, as well as discoveries. It certainly is fortuitous that I got the assignment of working on the Edward Fletcher Collection.  I truly believe that there is some cosmic force that started a simple query to Ray Barker, DC Public Library Special Collections Archivist. I asked if the division might be interested in seeing photographic samples of the historical works done by a deceased photographer, Edward Fletcher. Fletcher was one of the founders of the FotoCraft Camera Club, founded in 1937 and officially established in 1940.

My next task was helping the archivist with the accessioning of the Edward Fletcher Collection. Now, we’re reopening the 27 boxes I helped to pack in Tacoma, WA. The first step in a structured process was work! Why? Well, it is simple: this time I had time to look – really look – into the hastily packed boxes.  It was not a task of just transferring items again from one container to another. “Astounding!” was all I could think.  I was handling slides, albums, and images of Joe Louis, Nat King Cole, and Lena Horne. In addition, I had to transfer the mostly organized negatives of Howard University; Nannie Helen Burroughs; the Langston Terrace Golf Tournament; Thurgood Marshall; the NAACP; Pearl Bailey (who lived in NE, DC) and her husband, John Pinkett; the YWCA, etc. I was looking quickly, but nonetheless, I was looking at all before me. Something caught my eye all of sudden; it was an envelope marked “YMCA – weight lifters, 1947.” Here was a crown jewel, I thought to myself – a gem among so many other gems.

For background, the Bradford Barbell Club was officially started in 1947. The Club moved to the Anthony Bowen 12th Street YMCA (it was known as the colored Y). One should realize that back then, during this period, the nation’s capital was still segregated. Young men could not compete in local DC weightlifting championships. Jim Bradford was recognized outside of DC as an up-and-coming weight lifter. Later, this strong man won the silver medal in both the 1952 and 1960 Olympics.  

In 2008, I was hired as a photographer for the Bradford Barbell Club’s reunion. They met on November 9, in Washington DC at the Navy Yard.

So, not only am I a volunteer and explorer, but I have also touched in real time some of the lives of the people represented in the Edward Fletcher Collection. How lucky can one person be?

– Irene Kellogg, DC Public Library Special Collections Volunteer, as well as citizen, photographer, member of the FotoCraft Camera Club, and friend of the Fletcher Family

The Poor People’s Campaign Collection is now live on DigDC. This 1968 movement was initiated by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to support the efforts of American poor people advocating for economic...

The Poor People’s Campaign Collection is now live on DigDC. This 1968 movement was initiated by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to support the efforts of American poor people advocating for economic justice. Many of the activists lived in temporary housing they constructed on the National Mall in an encampment known as Resurrection City. Dr. King was assassinated in April 1968, during the Poor People’s March on Washington. This was his final major campaign. Learn more and browse materials from this collection here.

dc1968 Poor People's Campaign 1968 MLK

The Washington Free Press Collection is now live on DigDC ! 

The Washington Free Press Collection contains issues of the underground newspaper the Washington Free Press published from 1967 to 1969.

The WFP was a radical leftist independent newspaper that began publication in Washington, DC in 1966. An early member of the Underground Press Syndicate, it was best known for its homemade aesthetic and psychedelic illustrations and coverage of the counterculture, poverty, recreational drugs, student activism, the anti-Vietnam War movement, and police brutality. An entire issue of the paper was devoted to the October 21, 1967 anti-war demonstration later known as the Pentagon riot.

The WFP was founded in 1966 as an inter-university newspaper to cover the civil rights and anti-war movements. The paper ceased publication in the summer of 1966 after the first four issues and was resurrected in the spring of 1967 as an “underground” paper published by an editorial collective out of a communal townhouse. The first issue of the reconstituted WFP was published March 26, 1967. The WFP was Part of the Liberation News Service, which for a time operated out of the same house, and served as a wire service between underground papers across the country. The last issue of the Washington Free Press appeared mid-December 1969. Several former WFP staff members went on to found the underground newspaper the Quicksilver Times in mid-1969.

The Washington Free Press offices were repeatedly searched by local law enforcement and the FBI. Several of the paper’s distributors and the paper itself were charged with possession and distribution of obscenity. Most notably store owner Marshall Woodruff was charged with possession of obscene material over the publication of an R. Crumb cartoon. All convictions related to WFP obscenity were eventually reversed, though several exonerations came after the paper’s demise.

The issues presented here are from the personal collections of Washington Free Press co-founder Art Grosman and drug columnist Pete Novick. Grosman digitized the issues and donated the digital copies to DC Public Library for publication. We believe this to be a full run of the paper as it was reconstituted in 1967 beginning with Volume 2, Issue 1. Please contact us if you have any additional issues that would complete our collection.

This collection contains some nudity, violent imagery, offensive language, and frank depictions of sex and drug use.

The Washington Free Press was published by a collective until it ceased publication in 1969 and its intellectual property is not known to have transferred to any other entity.

Sources:

Source: digdc.dclibrary.org
dcpl digital archives washington free press
Save the Date! DC Home Movie Day 2017: “America on the Move: Road Trips, Travel, and Family” is co-presented by the Smithsonian and the DC Public Library (DCPL) at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Home Movie Day was...

Save the Date! DC Home Movie Day 2017: “America on the Move: Road Trips, Travel, and Family” is co-presented by the Smithsonian and the DC Public Library (DCPL) at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Home Movie Day was founded in 2002 as a celebration of amateur films and filmmaking. Home Movie Day events provide the opportunity for individuals and families to see and share their own home movies with an audience of their community, and to see their neighbors’ in turn. It’s a chance to discover why to care about these films and to learn how best to care for them.

DC Home Movie Day 2017 offers an opportunity for the participants to have their home movies on otherwise inaccessible and/or obsolete film and video formats inspected by the Smithsonian’s professional media conservators and screened for the public in the NMAAHC Family History Center.

This year’s DC Home Movie Day will also feature “America on the Move” home movie highlights from the film and video collections of the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the DC Public Library.

For more information: https://goo.gl/FwLHYa

home movie day

Special Collections staff has recently been working on improving the organization and description of our Ephemera Collection. The collection is chock full of items that would delight any paper, print, and typography lover.  A recent favorite is this 1874 dance card booklet from a reception of the Americus Yacht Club (possibly of New York City).

The Society of American Archivists defines ephemera as 

Materials, usually printed documents, created for a specific, limited purpose, and generally designed to be discarded after use. Notes: Examples of ephemera include advertisements, tickets, brochures, and receipts. A repository may collect ephemera as examples or specimens. Individuals often collect ephemera as mementos or souvenirs because of their association with some person, event, or subject; personal collections of ephemera are often kept in scrapbooks.

Some other recent ephemera highlights below include programs from the Society of Washington Fakirs (an art club), a card of censure from Washington Public Schools and a brochure for “George Washington’s River… a new water pollution film.”

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ephemera 19th century dc public library archives printing