Lester A. Walton photograph collection

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Description: The Lester A. Walton Photograph Collection depicts some aspects of his personal life and his professional career, mainly as United States diplomat to Liberia, during the period from the 1880s to the 1960s.The collection consists of individual and group studio portraits and candid shots of Walton; his wife, Gladys; their daughters, Majorie and Gladys Odile; family members and friends; and various political, diplomatic and military figures. Also included are views of Liberian village life, diplomatic gatherings, engineering projects, government housing, landscapes and cityscapes, and military non-combat activities. The collection has no images of Walton's career as a journalist or in the entertainment field; views of Walton's activities on the New York City Commission on Intergroup Relations are limited.
Names: Walton, Lester A., 1882-1965 (Collector); Battey, C.M (Photographer); Hansen, Austin, 1910-1996 (Photographer); Johnson, E. R (Photographer); Smith, Roger (Photographer); United States. Office of War Information (Photographer); Maxwell Studios (St. Louis, Mo.) (Photographer); Pan-American Photography Service (New York, N.Y.) (Photographer); Scurlock Studios (Washington, D.C.) (Photographer)
Dates / Origin: Date Created: 1880 - 1969 (Questionable)
Library locations: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division; Shelf locator: Sc Photo Lester A. Walton Collection
Topics: Walton, Lester A., 1882-1965; Walton, Gladys; Walton, Marjorie; Walton, Gladys Odile; Anderson, William; Barclay, Edwin, 1883-; Bolivar, William C; Davis, Benjamin O., 1880-1970; Hull, Cordell, 1871-1955; Johnson, Mordecai W.(Mordecai Wyatt), 1890-1976; Lescot, Elie, 1883-1974; Payne, Alberta; Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962; Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945; Stettinius, Edward R.(Edward Reilly), 1900-1949; Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972; Tubman, William V. S., 1895-1971; Wagner, Robert F. (Robert Ferdinand), 1910-1991; Walker, Walter S; Werner, Ludlow W.; City Commission on Intergroup Relations, New York (N.Y.); United Nations Conference on International Organization (1945 : San Francisco, Calif.); African American diplomats; Ambassadors -- United States; Diplomatic and consular service, American -- Liberia; African Americans -- Civil rights; United States -- Liberia -- Foreign relations; Liberia -- United States -- Foreign relations; Liberia -- Social life and customs
Genres: Photographs
Notes: Content: Some photographs have either photographer's or photography studio's handstamp on verso; some items bear news agency or military censor handstamps on verso. Some photographs have photographer's or photography studio's blind stamp on recto; some items, which are matted or mounted, have photographer's or photography studio's name printed on recto.; Content: Some photographs have handwritten notations on either verso or recto; some items bear printed descriptive information on verso; many photographs have press releases attached to verso. Some items bear inscriptions; negatives have typewritten captions on protective sleeves.; Content: Some photographs bear cropping marks; some items have damaged edges; three photographs are ripped in half; some items are duplicates.; Statement of responsibility: Collection contains work by Scurlock, C.M. Battey, E.R. Johnson, George D. Cowdery, Austin Hansen, M. Smith, E. White, Roger Smith, and Maxwell Studios, among others.; Biographical/historical: Lester Aglar Walton, journalist, entertainment figure and diplomat, was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1882. As a journalist, he was a reporter and editor for both black and mainstream newspapers in St. Louis (1902-1907) and New York (1908-1930s), as well as labor arbitrator in a dispute between the Newspaper Guild of New York and the New York Amsterdam News (1957-1959). He also led a 1913 movement for the capitalization of "N" in the spelling of Negro by daily papers and magazines. His contributions to entertainment included managing the Lafayette Theatre in Harlem (1914-1916, 1919-1921); serving as vice president of the Negro Actors Guild; chairing the Coordinating Council for Negro Performers to promote African-Americans in every field of entertainment (1950s); and writing songs throughout his career, including "Jim Crow Has Got to Go." Walton's political career included serving as publicity director of the Colored Division of the Democratic National Campaign Committee (1924, 1928 and 1932). In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Walton United States Ambassador to Liberia, a position he held until 1946 in which he negotiated and concluded treaties between the United States and Liberia (late 1930s) and agreements for establishing a U.S. Army base and a Navy port in Liberia (early 1940s). He would later serve as adviser to the Liberian delegation to the United Nations (late 1940s), and was one of the original members of the New York City Commission on Intergroup Relations (later renamed the City Commission on Human Rights) in 1955. Walton retired from this post in 1964, and died in New York City in 1965.; Citation/reference: Forms part of the Lester A. Walton Papers, 1905-1977.
Physical Description: Extent: 332 items (1 lin. ft., 4 boxes); Extent: 61 photographic prints :silver gelatin, bw, some hand-col. ;26 x 21 cm. and smaller.; Extent: 58 photographic prints :silver gelatin, bw ;21 x 26 cm. and smaller.; Extent: 70 photographic prints :silver gelatin, bw ;13 x 18 cm. and smaller.; Extent: 40 photographic prints :silver gelatin, bw ;18 x 13 cm. and smaller.; Extent: 42 photographic prints :silver gelatin, bw ;13 x 10 cm. and smaller.; Extent: 33 photographic prints :silver gelatin, bw ;10 x 13 cm. and smaller.; Extent: 6 photographic prints :silver gealtin, bw, one hand-col. ;48 x 34 cm. and smaller.; Extent: 3 photographic prints :col. ;13 x 8 cm.; Extent: 2 photomechanical prints :col. ;34 x 28 cm. and smaller.; Extent: 8 photographic postcards :bw ;14 x 9 cm.; Extent: 2 card photographs :bw ;17 x 11 cm.; Extent: 1 tintype ;7 x 5 cm.; Extent: 6 negatives ;10 x 13 cm.; Organized into three series: I. Personal Photographs, 1880s-1950s; II. Professional Activities, 1940s-1960s; III. General, 1940s-1950s.
Type of Resource: Still image
Identifiers: RLIN/OCLC: NYPG98-F304; NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b14984539; Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): a030a7d0-30be-0139-6d8a-0242ac110003

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U.S. Minister to Liberia Lest…

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Lester A. Walton photograph collection

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