Research Catalog

Details

Description

1. 401 items (1.8 lin ft., 6 boxes); 26 x 26 cm. and smaller.

Summary

1. The Gordon Anderson Collection documents Anderson's professional career in New York, events at the Apollo Theatre, and some of the personalities and news events connected with the African American community in New York, from the late 1940s to the 1980s.

Alternative title

1. Gordon Anderson photograph collection

Subject

1. Music-halls (Variety theatres, cabarets, etc.) > Harlem (New York N.Y.)
2. Photomechanical prints > 1950-1989
3. Silver gelatin photographic prints > 1940-1989
4. Anderson, Gordon, 1920-
5. Armstrong, Louis, 1901-1971
6. Basie, Count, 1904-1984
7. Bates, Daisy
8. Brown, James, 1933-2006
9. Davis, Sammy, Jr., 1925-1990
10. Farmer, James L., Jr (James Leonard), 1920-1999
11. Hutson, Jean Blackwell, 1914-1998
12. Holiday, Billie, 1915-1959
13. Waters, Ethel, 1896-1977
14. Sissle, Noble, 1889-1975
15. Sutton, Percy E
16. Van Peebles, Melvin, 1932-2021
17. Wilson, Jackie
18. Apollo Theater (New York, N.Y. : 125th Street)
19. National Urban League Guild
20. Ink Spots (Musical group)
21. Jewel Box Revue (Musical group)
22. Cotton Club (Motion picture : 1984)
23. African American entertainers
24. African American singers
25. African American musicians
26. African Americans in the performing arts
27. Entertainers > New York (State) > New York
28. Female impersonators
29. Music-halls (Variety-theatres, cabarets, etc.) > New York (State) > New York
30. Nightclubs > Harlem (New York, N.Y.) > 1940-1989
31. Cross-dressers
32. Music-halls (Variety-theaters, cabarets, etc.) > New York (State) > New York
33. Harlem (New York, N.Y.)
34. Snapshots > 1940-1989
35. Group portraits > 1940-1989
36. Portrait photographs > 1940-1989
37. Self portraits > 1950-1989
38. Photographic prints > color > 1950-1989
39. Photomontages > 1950-1989

Genre/Form

1. Snapshots – 1940-1989.
2. Group portraits – 1940-1989.
3. Portrait photographs – 1940-1989.
4. Self portraits – 1950-1989.
5. Photographic prints – color – 1950-1989.
6. Photomontages – 1950-1989.
7. Silver gelatin photographic prints – 1940-1989.
8. Photomechanical prints – 1950-1989.

Call number

1. Sc Photo Gordon Anderson Collection

Note

1. Title devised by cataloger.
2. Some photographs have photographer's handstamp or signature on verso: Anderson's handstamp often identifies him as Gordon "Doc, El Fabuloso" Anderson and "El Fabuloso"; his signature is often Gordon "Doc" Anderson.
3. Some photographs have descriptive information on verso.
4. Attached to the verso of a number of photographs are gallery announcements for Anderson's exhibitions and photocopies of publicity collages that he created.
5. Only a portion of the entertainers represented in the collection have been traced. Contact the Photographs and Prints Division, Schomburg Center for additional information on this collection.

Terms of use (note)

1. Restricted; permission of photographer is required for duplication.

Biography (note)

1. Gordon Anderson, a self-taught photographer, is best known for documenting the musicians and entertainers who appeared at the famous Apollo Theatre, in Harlem, from 1948 to 1975.

Publications (note)

1. Some photographs have been published in "Showtime at the Apollo," by Ted Fox (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1983)

Author

1. Anderson, Gordon, 1920-

Title

1. Gordon Anderson collection [graphic].

Imprint

1. 1947-[198-]

Type of content

1. still image

Type of medium

1. unmediated

Terms of use

1. Restricted; permission of photographer is required for duplication.

Biography

1. Gordon Anderson, a self-taught photographer, is best known for documenting the musicians and entertainers who appeared at the famous Apollo Theatre, in Harlem, from 1948 to 1975. Anderson, who had originally intended to become a pianist/composer, began his career taking photographs backstage at the Royal Theater in Baltimore, Maryland, as a means of getting close to the African American entertainers that he admired. In 1948, with the encouragement of Billie Holiday and Frank Schiffman, then owner of the Apollo, Anderson moved to Harlem. For nearly thirty years, Anderson photographed many entertainers who performed at the Apollo: he would arrive at the theater and shoot the early show, print his photographs during intermission, and then later head backstage to sell them as souvenirs to the performers. He became known as "Doc Anderson," the "unofficial" Apollo photographer.
2. Anderson's photographic career also included work at the Renaissance Ballroom, and the Palace, Capitol, and Paramount Theaters. In 1975, when the Apollo closed, Anderson remained active photographing celebrities and New York City events. In the mid-1980s, during the reopening of the Apollo Theatre, Anderson returned to document the event. Anderson's career also included a brief period, in the early 1950s, in which he filmed performers with an 8 mm. movie camera at their favorite Harlem haunts.
3. Anderson is noted for his candid photographs, and would sometimes include himself in some of his images. His style is often recognized by the distinctive photomontages he created of Apollo Theatre performers. Anderson's work has been exhibited on numerous occasions, and has been used to illustrate a number of publications on Harlem history, entertainment, and related subjects.

Publications

1. Some photographs have been published in "Showtime at the Apollo," by Ted Fox (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1983)

Connect to:

1. Request Appointment
2. NYPL Digital Collections

Local subject

1. Music-halls (Variety theatres, cabarets, etc.) -- Harlem (New York N.Y.)

Research call number

1. Sc Photo Gordon Anderson Collection