Research Catalog

Title

Helen Armstead-Johnson miscellaneous theater collections, 1831-1993.

Author

Johnson, Helen A.

Supplementary Content

Finding Aid

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Miller, Bessie Oliver, 1888-1974.
• Ring, Montague.
• Thompson, Ulysses S.
• Webb, Margot.
• Whipper, Leigh R. (Leigh Rollin), 1877-1975.
• Williams, Fess, 1894-1975.

Description

15.7 lin. ft. (46 hollinger boxes)

Summary

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

Schomburg NEH Blacks on Stage: African-American Theater Arts Collections Project.

Alternative Title

Helen Armstead-Johnson Collection

Subjects

• Aldridge, Ira Frederick, 1807-1867
• Norton and Margot (Dance team)
• Authors, Black
• Dafora, Asadata, 1890-1965
• Byrd, Sam, 1908-
• African American singers
• Playward Bus Thater
• Jessye, Eva, 1895-1992
• American drama > African American authors
• Croxton, Darryl
• Sidney, Jay
• Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967
• Mapp, Jim
• Miller, Bessie Oliver, 1888-1974
• African American artists
• Thompson, Ulysses S
• African Americans in the performing arts
• René, Leon, 1902-
• National Negro Opera Company
• John, Henry
• Blake, Eubie, 1887-1983
• African American poets
• Sissle, Noble, 1889-1975
• Bubbles, John W
• Pomare, Eleo
• Dunham, Katherine
• African American dramatists
• South, Eddie
• African American women entertainers
• African American comedians
• African American choral conductors
• Opera
• Baker, Josephine, 1906-1975
• Jarboro, Caterina
• Choreographers
• African American actors
• African American dance
• African American theater
• Johnson, James Weldon, 1871-1938
• Troy, Henry
• Lafayette Theatre Players
• Johnson, Hall, 1888-1970
• Handy, W. C (William Christopher), 1873-1958
• Robeson, Paul, 1898-1976
• Parker, Dolores
• Saunders, Gertrude
• Shepp, Archie
• Senghor, Léopold Sédar, 1906-2001
• Williams, Fess, 1894-1975
• African American dancers
• Anderson, Marian, 1897-1993
• Hayes, Roland, 1887-1977
• Musicals
• Music publishing
• Muse, Clarence
• Plays
• Robinson, Bill, 1878-1949
• African American musicians
• Dodson, Owen, 1914-1983
• Matheus, John Frederick, 1887-1983
• African American composers
• Whipper, Leigh R (Leigh Rollin), 1877-1975
• African American authors
• Mitchell, Abbie

Genre/Form

Plays.

Note

• 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)

• Helen Armstead-Johnson;
• Armstead-Johnson, Helen

Biography (note)

• 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)

• 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)

• Forms parts of: Helen Armstead-Johnson Theater Collection.

Processing Action (note)

• Processed
• Cataloged

Call Number

Sc MG 599

Author

Johnson, Helen A.

Title

Helen Armstead-Johnson miscellaneous theater collections, 1831-1993.

Biography

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

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

Forms parts of: Helen Armstead-Johnson Theater Collection.

Connect to:

Finding Aid

Added Author

Ring, Montague.

Miller, Bessie Oliver, 1888-1974.

Thompson, Ulysses S.

Whipper, Leigh R. (Leigh Rollin), 1877-1975.

Williams, Fess, 1894-1975.

Webb, Margot.

Research Call Number

Sc MG 599