Postage Stamps Honor Scholars and Novelist in Schomburg Center Collections

The bibliophile, the poet, the “Dean,” and the novelist— their work in the 1920s helped to shape the course of art, academics, and literature for generations during an era that became known as the Harlem Renaissance. 

The United States Postal Service released its “Voices of the Harlem Renaissance” stamps on May 21. It features four of its contributors: Arturo Schomburg, Anne Spencer, Alain Locke, and Nella Larsen. 

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture holds the archives of Mr. Schomburg, Ms. Larsen, and Mr. Locke in its Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Books Division (MARB). During Schomburg Center’s temporary closure to the public, explore the digital collections to learn more about each. 

Arturo Schomburg (1874-1938)

A bibliophile and scholar, Arturo Schomburg amassed a collection of more than 10,000 items which he sold to the New York Public Library in 1926 for $10,000. It included books, artworks, and manuscripts by Black artists. The pieces became the cornerstone of what is today the Schomburg Center. The collections now contain over 11 million items chronicling the lives, activism, and works of artists, activists, educators, and leaders across the African Diaspora.

“While this collection certainly reflected his interest in the history of Black people around the world from Juan Latino to Phillis Wheatley to Olaudah Equiano, it was also clear that Schomburg was well aware that he was living in a transformational time," said Cheryl Beredo, MARB’s curator. “So, it's no surprise that among the titles in Mr. Schomburg's 'seed library' are works by or that feature giants of the Harlem Renaissance, including those honored by these newly released stamps."

"Through our Home to Harlem initiative, which improves access to Mr. Schomburg’s original collection through enhanced bibliographic description, we continue to learn more about the Harlem Renaissance every day,” Beredo said. “By looking closely at the books and archives in Mr. Schomburg's original collection, we are exploring the many social, artistic, and intellectual networks that flourished throughout the 1920s and here at the library."  

You can learn more about the life and achievements of Mr. Schomburg through books such as Dr. Elinor Des Verney Sinnette’s Arthur Alfonso Schomburg: Black Bibliophile & Collector and Vanessa K. Valdés’ Diasporic Blackness: The Life and Times of Arturo Alfonso Schomburg.

In the discussion Arturo A. Schomburg Celebration, Dean Schomburg, grandson of Arturo Schomburg, moderated a conversation between Dr. Ada Myriam Felicié Soto, author of Arturo and the Hidden Treasure, and professor at the University of Puerto Rico Piedras, and Dr. Frances Negrón-Muntaner, professor at Columbia University. You can view this 2016 conversation here. 

Learn more about the Arthur Alfonso Schomburg papers here.

Nella Larsen (1891–1964)

From 1921-26, Nella Larsen worked as a children’s librarian at the 135th Street Branch of The New York Public Library. Born to a white Danish mother and a Black West Indian father, Larsen used her biracial heritage as inspiration for her books Quicksand (1928) and Passing (1929).  Ms. Larsen made history as the first African American woman to win a Guggenheim Award for creative writing. Her career as a novelist was cut short after an unsubstantiated charge of plagiarism. Larsen began a nursing career in 1941 and died in obscurity in 1964.  

“Our understanding of Larsen and her writing has changed over time as well,” Beredo said. “She went under-studied for decades. As her books were rediscovered, works such as Passing are considered classics. Larsen is regarded as one of the most significant African American novelists of the 20th century, perhaps these stamps will encourage new readers of her work."

The Nella Larsen Letters consist of two letters written by Ms. Larsen to Edward Wasserman discussing the social event of the decade—the 1928 wedding of Countee Cullen and W.E.B. DuBois' daughter, Yolande. 

Here’s a preview of what’s in the collection in the Schomburg Center: Live from the Reading Room, a podcast series in 2016, shared a portion of Ms. Larsen’s correspondence. 

Or, explore the literary genius of Larsen through her books. They’re available on SimplyE, NYPL’s free audiobook and e-reader app. 

Dr. Alain Locke (1885–1954)

Dr. Alain Locke, a professor of Philosophy at Harvard University, made history as the first African American Rhodes Scholar. In March 1925, Dr. Locke guest-edited an issue of the periodical Survey Graphic titled "Harlem, Mecca of the New Negro.” The edition brought the poetry and prose of Black artists such as Countee Cullen and W.E.B. DuBois to demonstrate the uptown community's status of having the finest writing talents.

The Bernhard Stein/Alain Locke Collection consists of letters documenting their collaboration on When Peoples Meet, A Study in Race and Cultural Contacts, a 1946 book on race relations. .

"Alain Locke is himself enjoying something of a renaissance, with Jeffery Stewart's recent Pulitzer Prize-winning biography introducing a broader readership to this important figure from the Harlem Renaissance," Beredo said.  And, it comes at a good time, too, as I think the creativity, energy, and even optimism of The New Negro is something that especially resonates with the activism we're seeing online and in the streets today."

Our digital collection on Dr. Locke includes the 2018 discussion Between the Lines: The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke by Jeffrey Stewart. Stewart, a former Schomburg Fellow, discussed his book with Brent Edwards, director of the Schomburg Center’s Scholars-in-Residence program. 

Find out firsthand why Locke was considered the “Dean” of the Harlem Renaissance. Explore The New Negro: Voices of the Harlem Renaissance. The joyful, informative, and stirring words of writers such as Zora Neale Hurston, Countee Cullen, and W.E.B. DuBois are all in one book—edited by Locke. The work has become one of the seminal writings of its era.

"In a time when more people are understanding and appreciating that, yes indeed, Black Lives Matter, it is all the more gratifying to see this celebration of Schomburg, Spencer, Locke, and Nelson, and of the Harlem Renaissance in general," Beredo said. "Black people have known all along that Black lives matter, and the issuing of these stamps is a reminder of that for us all."

To learn more about the Voices of the Harlem Renaissance stamps, visit the USPS website. 

The Home to Harlem initiative is funded by the Mellon Foundation.

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