This collection, which dates from 1949-1970, contains approximately 2513 color 35mm slides depicting the people, environment and cultures of more than 30 African countries. Images include landscapes, agriculture and marketplace scenes. Countries represented include Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burundi, Rwanda, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), Cote d'Ivoire and Zambia. Also included in this collection are 117 postcards from West and Central Africa and approximately 17 maps of and 10 guide books for East and West Africa. A small amount of miscellaneous ephemera rounds out the collection.
Arrangement note:
Slides are arranged alphabetically by country. Arrangement reflects the original order established by the donor.
Biographical/Historical note:
William Adams Hance (1916-2008) was a professor emeritus of economic geography at Columbia University. In the early 1950s, Hance was part of a team of academicians sent by the Carnegie Corporation to Africa, with the intention that they would return and contribute to the education of Americans about the African continent. He taught courses on Africa until his retirement. In 1956, Hance was a founding member of the African Studies Association and he went on to serve on its board as Executive Secretary and President. Hance's publications include six books on Africa, as well as numerous articles. In 1967 he was named Honorary Fellow of the American Geographical Society, and was honored by the Nigerian Society of Geographers for "distinguished contributions to the science of geography in Africa."
Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Photographs taken by Seligman between 1970 and 2004 primarily of West Africa, including Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Dogon, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Swaziland, Kenya, and Morocco. Additionally, there are some images of masquerades in Cote d'Ivoire and Togo, and scenes in Ghana and Great Zimbabwe. Images depict cultural landscapes, masquerades, masks, vernacular architecture, and the Dogon people.
Arrangement:
Images indexed by slide number.
Other Archival Materials:
ArtStor has made digital images of some of the slides from Mali (approximately 539 digital slides).
Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
circa 11000 Negatives (photographic) (black and white and color, 2.5 x 2.5 inches or smaller)
circa 5000 Photographic prints (silver gelatin, black and white, 8 x 10 inches or smaller)
circa 20 Linear feet (Manuscript Materials)
5.4 Linear feet (Office Files)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Negatives (photographic)
Photographic prints
Negatives
Place:
Johannesburg (South Africa)
Botswana
Lesotho
South Africa
Swaziland
Transkei (South Africa)
Natal (South Africa)
Africa
Soweto (South Africa)
Eastern Transvaal (South Africa)
Zululand (South Africa)
Ixopo (South Africa)
Pretoria (South Africa)
Port Elizabeth (South Africa)
Paris (France)
Date:
1900-1997
Summary:
The collection dates from 1900 to 1997 and mostly includes images taken in South Africa. The images document the peoples of South Africa, particularly the Loved, Ndebele, San, Sotho, Xhosa, and Zulu peoples. Locations photographed include Basutoland (now Lesotho), Bechuanaland (now Botswana), Johannesburg, Natal, Pretoria, Soweto, Swaziland, Transkei, Transvaal, the Umzimkulu Valley and Zululand. Manuscript and office files include clippings, correspondence, exhibition announcements, invitations and reviews, notes, essays, receipts, and other materials that document Larrabee's career, family history, and personal life.
Scope and Contents:
The collection dates from 1900 to 1997 and mostly includes images taken in South Africa. The images document the peoples of South Africa, particularly the Lovedu, Ndebele, San, Sotho, Xhosa, and Zulu peoples. Locations photographed include Basutoland (now Lesotho), Bechuanaland (now Botswana), Johannesburg, Natal, Pretoria, Soweto, Swaziland, Transkei, Transvaal, the Umzimkulu Valley and Zululand.
Notable people photographed include Noel Coward, Gwen Ffangcon Davies, Athol Fugard, Nadine Gordimer, Norman Hackforth, Freida Lock, Ivor Novello, Alan Paton, Alexis Preller, Gerard Sekoto, and Marda Vanne.
The manuscript materials and office files are comprised of clippings, correspondence, exhibition announcements, invitations and reviews, notes, essays, receipts, and other manuscript materials that document Larrabee's career, family history, and personal life.
Arrangement:
Arranged by format into 3 series:
Series 1: Photographs, circa 1936-circa 1988
Series 2: Manuscript Materials, circa 1936-circa 1996
Series 3: Office Files, 1900-1997
Biographical/Historical note:
Photographer Constance Stuart Larrabee (1914-2000) was best known for her images taken in South Africa. Born in Cornwall, England, she was raised in Pretoria. She studied photography in London (1933-1935) and at the Bavarian State Institute for Photography in Munich (1935-1936), where she was influenced by the avant-garde work of artists at the Bauhaus. Returning to South Africa, Larrabee set up a studio and photographed many leading cultural and political figures of the period. During World War II she served as South Africa's first woman war correspondent, and in 1950 she married American Sterling Larrabee and moved to the United States.
Larrabee began photographing the peoples of South Africa in the late 1930s. She published extensively, including a portfolio produced for the book Cry, the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton (New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1948). Her work has appeared in exhibits throughout the world, including the following: The Lovedu in Pretoria, 1947; The Family of Man (Museum of Modern Art, 1955); Tribal Photographs (Corcoran Art Gallery, 1984; and Go Well, My Child (National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1986).
Provenance:
Donated by Constance Stuart Larabee in 1986 and 1998.
Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Genre/Form:
Photographic prints
Negatives
Citation:
Constance Stuart Larrabee Collection, EEPA 1998-006, Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The cataloging of the Constance Stuart Larrabee Collection was supported by a grant from The Smithsonian Women's Committee.
Strip number: 6809; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: Swazi: Royal Visit Originals
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Strip number: 6810; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: Swazi: Royal Visit Originals
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Strip number: 6811; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: Swazi: Royal Visit Originals
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Strip number: 6812; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: Swazi: Royal Visit Originals
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Strip number: 6813; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: Swazi: Royal Visit Originals
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Strip number: 6814; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: Swazi: Royal Visit Originals
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Strip number: 6815, 6816; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: Swaziland Color Originals
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Strip number: 6815, 6816; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: Swaziland Color Originals
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Strip number: 6817, 6818; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: Swaziland Color Originals
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Strip number: 6817, 6818; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: Swaziland Color Originals
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Strip number: 6819, 6820; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: Swaziland Color Originals
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Strip number: 6819, 6820; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: Swaziland Color Originals
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Strip number: 6834; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: Swazi: Royal Visit Color
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
