Research Catalog

FINDING AID AVAILABLE

Helen Armstead-Johnson miscellaneous theater collections

Title
  1. Helen Armstead-Johnson miscellaneous theater collections, 1831-1993.
Author
  1. Johnson, Helen A.

Collection information

Finding aid

The finding aid is a document containing details about the organization and contents of this archival collection. Archival collections require an appointment to view and use on-site.

Items in the library and off-site

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Displaying 1-20 of 44 items

StatusContainerFormatAccessCall numberItem location
Status

Available by appointment at Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives. See the finding aid for details.

ContainerBox 17FormatArchival MixAccessUse in libraryCall numberSc MG 599 Box 17Item locationSchomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives
Status

Available by appointment at Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives. See the finding aid for details.

ContainerBox 16FormatArchival MixAccessUse in libraryCall numberSc MG 599 Box 16Item locationSchomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives
Status

Available by appointment at Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives. See the finding aid for details.

ContainerBox 15FormatArchival MixAccessUse in libraryCall numberSc MG 599 Box 15Item locationSchomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives
Status

Available by appointment at Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives. See the finding aid for details.

ContainerBox 14FormatArchival MixAccessUse in libraryCall numberSc MG 599 Box 14Item locationSchomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives
Status

Available by appointment at Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives. See the finding aid for details.

ContainerBox 13FormatArchival MixAccessUse in libraryCall numberSc MG 599 Box 13Item locationSchomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives
Status

Available by appointment at Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives. See the finding aid for details.

ContainerBox 13FormatArchival MixAccessUse in libraryCall numberSc MG 599 Box 13Item locationSchomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives
Status

Available by appointment at Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives. See the finding aid for details.

ContainerBox 12FormatArchival MixAccessUse in libraryCall numberSc MG 599 Box 12Item locationSchomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives
Status

Available by appointment at Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives. See the finding aid for details.

ContainerBox 12FormatArchival MixAccessUse in libraryCall numberSc MG 599 Box 12Item locationSchomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives
Status

Available by appointment at Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives. See the finding aid for details.

ContainerBox 11FormatArchival MixAccessUse in libraryCall numberSc MG 599 Box 11Item locationSchomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives
Status

Available by appointment at Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives. See the finding aid for details.

ContainerBox 11FormatArchival MixAccessUse in libraryCall numberSc MG 599 Box 11Item locationSchomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives
Status

Available by appointment at Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives. See the finding aid for details.

ContainerBox 11FormatArchival MixAccessUse in libraryCall numberSc MG 599 Box 11Item locationSchomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives
Status

Available by appointment at Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives. See the finding aid for details.

ContainerBox 10FormatArchival MixAccessUse in libraryCall numberSc MG 599 Box 10Item locationSchomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives
Status

Available by appointment at Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives. See the finding aid for details.

ContainerBox 10FormatArchival MixAccessUse in libraryCall numberSc MG 599 Box 10Item locationSchomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives
Status

Available by appointment at Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives. See the finding aid for details.

ContainerBox 10FormatArchival MixAccessUse in libraryCall numberSc MG 599 Box 10Item locationSchomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives
Status

Available by appointment at Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives. See the finding aid for details.

ContainerBox 9FormatArchival MixAccessUse in libraryCall numberSc MG 599 Box 9Item locationSchomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives
Status

Available by appointment at Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives. See the finding aid for details.

ContainerBox 9FormatArchival MixAccessUse in libraryCall numberSc MG 599 Box 9Item locationSchomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives
Status

Available by appointment at Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives. See the finding aid for details.

ContainerBox 9FormatArchival MixAccessUse in libraryCall numberSc MG 599 Box 9Item locationSchomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives
Status

Available by appointment at Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives. See the finding aid for details.

ContainerBox 8FormatArchival MixAccessUse in libraryCall numberSc MG 599 Box 8Item locationSchomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives
Status

Available by appointment at Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives. See the finding aid for details.

ContainerBox 8FormatArchival MixAccessUse in libraryCall numberSc MG 599 Box 8Item locationSchomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives
Status

Available by appointment at Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives. See the finding aid for details.

ContainerBox 8FormatArchival MixAccessUse in libraryCall numberSc MG 599 Box 8Item locationSchomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives
View all 44 items

Details

Additional authors
  1. Ring, Montague.
  2. Miller, Bessie Oliver, 1888-1974.
  3. Thompson, Ulysses S.
  4. Whipper, Leigh R. (Leigh Rollin), 1877-1975.
  5. Williams, Fess, 1894-1975.
  6. Webb, Margot.
Description
  1. 15.7 lin. ft. (46 hollinger boxes)
Summary
  1. The Helen Armstead-Johnson Miscellaneous Theater collections (HAJMTC) are formed by over two hundred file-folder level collections (1 to 3 file folders per personality/event). The collections contain information dating from the mid-19th century to the late 20th century documenting early dramatic actors, minstrel shows, vaudeville, musical revues, 1920s and 30s Broadway productions, the protest dramas of the 1940s and 50s, plays that came out of the Black Arts Movement of the late 60s and 70s, and theatrical productions of the 1980s and 90s. In addition to actors, playwrights, singers, musicians, and dancers (classical and popular) (e.g. Ira Frederick Aldridge, Eubie Blake and Katherine Dunham), and the productions they appeared in, there are collections for poets, and visual and plastic artists. There are eighteen collections documenting performers of the 19th century; twenty-nine collections covering the period 1900-1919; thirty-seven collections document the 1940s-1950s; and eleven collections for the 1980s and 1990s. The bulk of the collections cover the two most productive periods for black theater: ninety-two collections for the 1920s through the 1930s, and ninety collections representative of the Black Arts Movement.
Donor/Sponsor
  1. Schomburg NEH Blacks on Stage: African-American Theater Arts Collections Project.
Alternative title
  1. Helen Armstead-Johnson Collection
Subject
  1. Aldridge, Ira Frederick, 1807-1867
  2. Anderson, Marian, 1897-1993
  3. Baker, Josephine, 1906-1975
  4. Blake, Eubie, 1887-1983
  5. Bubbles, John W
  6. Byrd, Sam, 1908-
  7. Croxton, Darryl
  8. Dafora, Asadata, 1890-1965
  9. Dodson, Owen, 1914-1983
  10. Dunham, Katherine
  11. Handy, W. C. 1873-1958
  12. Hayes, Roland, 1887-1977
  13. Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967
  14. Jarboro, Caterina
  15. Jessye, Eva, 1895-1992
  16. John, Henry
  17. Johnson, Hall, 1888-1970
  18. Johnson, James Weldon, 1871-1938
  19. Mapp, Jim
  20. Matheus, John Frederick, 1887-1983
  21. Miller, Bessie Oliver, 1888-1974
  22. Mitchell, Abbie
  23. Muse, Clarence
  24. Parker, Dolores
  25. Pomare, Eleo
  26. René, Leon, 1902-
  27. Robeson, Paul, 1898-1976
  28. Robinson, Bill, 1878-1949
  29. Saunders, Gertrude
  30. Senghor, Léopold Sédar, 1906-2001
  31. Shepp, Archie
  32. Sidney, Jay
  33. Sissle, Noble, 1889-1975
  34. South, Eddie
  35. Thompson, Ulysses S
  36. Troy, Henry
  37. Whipper, Leigh R. 1877-1975
  38. Williams, Fess, 1894-1975
  39. National Negro Opera Company
  40. Norton and Margot (Dance team)
  41. Lafayette Theatre Players
  42. Playward Bus Thater
  43. African American authors
  44. African American actors
  45. African American artists
  46. African American choral conductors
  47. African American comedians
  48. African American composers
  49. African American dramatists
  50. African American musicians
  51. African American poets
  52. African American singers
  53. African American women entertainers
  54. African Americans in the performing arts
  55. African American dancers
  56. Choreographers
  57. Authors, Black
  58. American drama -- African American authors
  59. African American theater
  60. African American dance
  61. Music publishing
  62. Musicals
  63. Opera
Genre/Form
  1. Plays.
Call number
  1. Sc MG 599
Note
  1. The bulk of the photographs, artifacts and audio-visual materials making up the Helen Armstead-Johnson Theater Collection were either not associated with the manuscripts collections or were allocated to the Photographs and Prints Division, the Arts and Artifacts Division or the Moving Images and Recorded Sound Division, respectively upon receipt of the collection by the Center. Any photographs and artifacts separated while processing the miscellaneous collections were transferred to the appropriate divisions and are identified by a "See Also" note following the collection's description.
Source (note)
  1. Helen Armstead-Johnson;
  2. Armstead-Johnson, Helen
Biography (note)
  1. Helen Armstead-Johnson began conducting research into African American theater following a chance meeting in 1966 with Noble Sissle (1889-1975), musician, band conductor and show business partner of composer Eubie Blake. As a result of her interest in Black theater, she established The Armstead-Johnson Foundation for Theater Research in February 1974 for the purpose of collecting, preserving, documenting and exhibiting the history of Black contributions to the American stage. As the Foundation's director her research and other activities for the Foundation took her across the United States, Europe, Africa, South America and Australia enabling her to acquire materials.
Provenance (note)
  1. The Helen Armstead-Johnson miscellaneous theater collections consist of materials gathered by Helen-Armstead Johnson from Amanda Aldridge (pseud. Ring, Montague), Bessie Oliver Miller, Ulysses S. Thompson, Leigh Whipper, Fess Williams and Margot Webb,and others over various periods. It was subsequently donated by Helen Armstead-Johnson along with other theater related collections to the Schomburg Center
Linking entry (note)
  1. Forms parts of: Helen Armstead-Johnson Theater Collection.
Processing action (note)
  1. Processed
  2. Cataloged
Author
  1. Johnson, Helen A.
Title
  1. Helen Armstead-Johnson miscellaneous theater collections, 1831-1993.
Biography
  1. Helen Armstead-Johnson began conducting research into African American theater following a chance meeting in 1966 with Noble Sissle (1889-1975), musician, band conductor and show business partner of composer Eubie Blake. As a result of her interest in Black theater, she established The Armstead-Johnson Foundation for Theater Research in February 1974 for the purpose of collecting, preserving, documenting and exhibiting the history of Black contributions to the American stage. As the Foundation's director her research and other activities for the Foundation took her across the United States, Europe, Africa, South America and Australia enabling her to acquire materials.
Provenance
  1. The Helen Armstead-Johnson miscellaneous theater collections consist of materials gathered by Helen-Armstead Johnson from Amanda Aldridge (pseud. Ring, Montague), Bessie Oliver Miller, Ulysses S. Thompson, Leigh Whipper, Fess Williams and Margot Webb,and others over various periods. It was subsequently donated by Helen Armstead-Johnson along with other theater related collections to the Schomburg Center
Linking entry
  1. Forms parts of: Helen Armstead-Johnson Theater Collection.
Connect to:
  1. Finding Aid
Added author
  1. Ring, Montague.
  2. Miller, Bessie Oliver, 1888-1974.
  3. Thompson, Ulysses S.
  4. Whipper, Leigh R. (Leigh Rollin), 1877-1975.
  5. Williams, Fess, 1894-1975.
  6. Webb, Margot.
Research call number
  1. Sc MG 599
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